Four women were today killed and eight persons seriously injured in a collision on National Highway-28 in Bihar's Samastipur district, police said.
The incident occurred near Chausima village under Musrigharari Police Station, when an ill-fated autorickshaw, carrying a dozen passengers, collided head on with a truck coming from the opposite direction, they said.
Musrigharari Police Station SHO Parmanand Lal Karna said that the deceased have been identified as Piyariya Devi (60), Kusma Devi (48), Chuniya Devi (40) and Ranju Devi (34).
All of them, including the injured, were returning to their native village in the district, after taking a holy dip in river Ganages in Begusarai district, he said.
The injured persons have been admitted to hospital for treatment in Samastipur, he said, and the bodies have been sent to sadar hospital for post mortem.
The driver and cleaner of the truck managed to escape from the spot after the accident, Karna added.