Four Amarnath Yatra pilgrims from Rajasthan, including two women, were killed and six others were injured when their Tempo Traveller rammed into a stationary truck on the Bathinda-Dabwali highway early on Wednesday, police said.
The victims were residents of Balotra town in Rajasthan’s Barmer district.
The accident occurred near Jodhpur Romana village on the outskirts of Bathinda town around 5am.
The victims were heading to the Golden Temple in Amritsar before embarking on the Amarnath pilgrimage that is to begin on July 3.
The Tempo Traveller driver also died on the spot, the police said.
The six injured passengers were rushed to the nearby All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, for treatment. The bodies of the deceased victims were sent to the mortuary at the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital.
Preliminary police investigations indicate that the Tempo Traveller driver may have dozed off at the wheel before crashing into the truck parked on the roadside.