Seven of family killed as SUV crashes into tree on highway

Seven members of a family, including three children, were killed and another one was injured early on Wednesday when the SUV they were travelling in crashed into a roadside tree near Satara on Mumbai- Bengaluru highway in Maharashtra, police said.

A senior police official from Borgaon police station said the family, hailing from Dharwad in Karnataka, was on its way to Mumbai airport to drop their two of their elderly, who were going for the Haj pilgrimage.

"The accident occurred close to Kashil village near Satara around 12.45 am on Wednesday. All the seven deceased were from one family," he said.

The deceased were identified as Nizamuddin Abdulnabi Saudagar (69), Safura Nizamuddin Saudagar (58), Mansuf Nizamuddin Saudagar (40), Nafisa Mansuf Saudagar (35), Aksa Mansuf Saudagar (4), Ahmedraza Mansuf Saudagar (2) and Tayabba Mansuf Saudagar (6).

"The family was on its way to Mumbai airport, from where Nizamuddin Saudagar and his wife Safura were supposed to go for the Haj pilgrimage," the officer said.

Prima facie, the accident occurred as the driver, Shahnawaz Pendhari, lost control over the vehicle and it veered off the road and crashed into a roadside tree, he said.

Pendhari suffered serious injuries in the accident and is undergoing treatment in a hospital, the officer added.