Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was on Sunday killed in a road accident after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai, a senior police officer said.

He was 54.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran pays respects to Cyrus Mistry: "Really tragic he passed away at such a young age"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condoled Mistry's his untimely passing.

Mistry was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a Mercedes car, the Mumbai police officer said.

The accident took place around 3.15 pm, when Mistry was travelling to Mumbai from Ahmedabad. The accident took place on a bridge over the Surya river. It seems an accident, said Palghar district superintendent of police, Balasaheb Patil.

Wreackage of the Mercedes car in which businessman and former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry was travelling when it met with an accident in Palghar PTI picture

The other two persons travelling with him, including the car driver, were injured. All the injured persons have been shifted to a hospital in Gujarat, he said.

More details will be obtained from them, the SP added.

A Kasa police station officer said the accident occurred at Charoti Naka on the Surya river bridge under the Kasa police station limits.

The body of Mistry has been shifted to the Kasa Rural Hospital for postmortem.

Shocking demise: PM

"The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India's economic prowess," Modi said in a tweet.

"His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry. Condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," the prime minister said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also condoled the death of Cyrus, saying it was not just a loss for his family but for the entire business world.

London Business School alumnus

Born on July 4, 1968, Cyrus Mistry completed his graduation in civil engineering from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London. He also held a Master's degree in management from the London Business School.

Mistry was the younger son of late Pallonji Mistry -- owner of the Shapoorji Pallonji group and the biggest stakeholder in the Tata group.

Mistry replaced Ratan Tata as executive chairman after he stepped down on turning 75 in 2012.

Tata Group director in 2006

Mistry had joined the Tata group in 2006 as a director, and had held non-executive positions on boards of several other Tata companies earlier. Mistry, the second person from outside the Tata family to head the group in the last 142 years of its existence, could retain his post for just four years.

In October 2016, Mr Mistry was removed as Tata Sons Chairman in a dramatic ouster. Months later -- in December 2016 -- two Mistry family-backed investment firms - Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd - had moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), alleging mismanagement by Tata Sons. In February 2017, Mistry was removed as a Director on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group firms.