Ahmedabad: Seven men lost their lives, and one was critically injured when a speeding car crashed into a trailer truck on a highway near Himatnagar in Sabarkantha district early Wednesday morning, police reported.

The impact of the collision left the car severely mangled, and authorities had to undertake extensive efforts to retrieve the bodies, according to officials. Rescue teams used gas-cutters to dismantle the wreckage and recover the victims.

The accident occurred around 6:30 AM on a national highway connecting Udaipur and Ahmedabad, police said.

“Seven of the car’s occupants died in the accident,” confirmed Superintendent of Police Vijay Patel.

The car, carrying eight passengers, collided with the trailer truck from behind as it traveled toward Ahmedabad, a Himatnagar police official added. One of the passengers, who was critically injured, was rushed to a civil hospital for treatment.

All the victims were men from Ahmedabad, and their identities were being verified, the official said.