Ambedkar Nagar (UP) | Eight persons were killed after a speeding car ran over a group of bystanders who had gathered to help injured motorcyclists following a collision here, police said on Monday.

The accident took place near Ashrafpur Bhua village on the Jalalpur-Akbarpur road in Ambedkar Nagar district at about 11.30 pm on Sunday, ASP (East) Tejvir Singh said.

Two motorcycles had earlier collided, leaving two persons injured. As locals assembled at the spot to assist them, a speeding car ploughed into the crowd, triggering chaos and panic.

The injured were rushed to a community health centre, where doctors declared six persons dead.

Two critically injured victims were referred to the Ambedkar Nagar district hospital and later to a higher centre in Tanda, where they succumbed during treatment, taking the death toll to eight, the ASP said.

The deceased have been identified as Kaifi (32), Uttam Kumar (24), Aditya Kumar (25), Lalchand (24) Raju Gupta (32), Chhotu, and two unidentified persons, police said.

The car driver fled the scene after the incident, and efforts are underway to trace and arrest the accused, the officer said.

A detailed investigation is underway, he added.