At least five persons from Telangana were killed and six others injured when their Scorpio SUV plunged from a bridge into a local river near Moghali village of the district early on Friday, officials said.

The tragedy occurred when a family from Bhokar was returning to Vannel, Nizamabad in the adjoining state, after celebrating the first birthday of the daughter of a relative Santosh Bhalerao, said an official from Nanded Police Control.

The deceased are identified as: Savita Shyam Bhalerao, 25, Rekha Parmeshwar Bhalerao, 30, Anjana Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao, 31, two minors – Priti Parmeshwar Bhalerao, 8, and Sushil Maroti Gaikwad, 7 year.

They were all residents of Renapur village of Bhokar in Nanded district and were returning to their work places in Telangana when the calamity struck around midnight of Thursday-Friday on the desolate highway.

The injured family members include three brothers: Shyam T. Bhalerao, 35, Parmeshwar T. Bhalerao, 38, Dnyaneshwar T. Bhalerao, 29, plus three minors, Datta Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao, 8, Pritesh Parmeshwar Bhalerao, 8, Soham Parmeshwar Bhalerao, 6.

As per preliminary investigations, the speeding SUV ran into a pothole and burst a tyre after which the driver lost control and it fell from the bridge into the river in pitch darkness.

At least two of the three women reportedly died due to drowning in the cold river before local villagers rushed to launch a rescue operation, and later Bhokar’s Police Inspector Subhashchandra Markar also reached the accident spot.

The injured have been admitted to local village hospital for treatment, where the condition of at least two is described as serious, and further investigations are underway.