Bhind | Five people were killed, and six sustained serious injuries after a speeding bus crashed into their van on a national highway in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district in the wee hours of Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred around 2.30 AM on National Highway 719 near Chhimka village under the Gohad Chauraha police station limits, about 45 km from the district headquarters, area police station house officer (SHO) Manish Dhakad told PTI.

The empty bus hit the van, killing four of the occupants on the spot. The death toll rose to five after one of the individuals succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

The six injured persons have been moved to Gwalior for advanced treatment, police said.

According to eyewitnesses, the impact of the collision left the van completely mangled, trapping its occupants inside. Locals began rescue efforts and informed the police.

The victims were travelling to Bhind from Gwalior, while the bus was returning to Gwalior after dropping off a wedding party in the city and had no passengers on board, Dhakad said.

"Preliminary investigation suggests that speeding was the main cause of the accident," he said.

Traffic on the highway remained disrupted for some time after the accident, and the police later cleared the damaged vehicles to restore movement.

Area Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Ravindra Vaskale said the deceased have been identified as Bharat Sharma, Atul Shivhare, Jagdish Bhadauria, Pradeep Prajapati and Anand Bhadauria. They were aged between 25 and 50, he added.

He said Ketu Sharma (10), Santosh Sharma (37), Mewaram Bhadauria (61), Ramlakhan (59), Meera (30), and Sukhveer Sharma (50) are undergoing treatment in Gwalior.