Nashik | Four persons were killed when a tanker hit their car on the Mumbai-Agra national highway in Maharashtra's Nashik district, an official said on Friday.

The accident took place around 1 pm on Thursday near Mundhegaon Shivar on the busy carriageway, said the official.

Three members of a family from Andheri in Mumbai were returning home in a car after attending a Guru Purnima programme at Mauli Baba Ramdas Mutt in Shenwad.

A tanker carrying a chemical substance crashed into the car, killing the trio and their driver at the scene. The tanker overturned due to impact, the official said.

The victims have been identified as Nityanand Sawant (62), Vidya Sawant (65), Veena Sawant (68) and car driver Dattaram Ambale (42), also a resident of Andheri in Mumbai. Their bodies were removed with the help of a crane from the mangled wreckage of the car, the official said.

The accident also affected the traffic movement on the busy national highway for some time, he said, adding the tanker driver has been arrested.