Six migrant labourers were killed and 14 injured when the truck in which they were travelling overturned in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district, a police officer said on Sunday.

Five of the victims died on the spot and one died during treatment, the officer said.

The accident occurred near Patha village, around 40km from the district headquarters, on Saturday night when around 20 migrant labourers were travelling by the truck to Jhansi, Etah and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh from Hyderabad, additional superintendent of police Rajesh Tiwari said.

According to the initial investigation, the lorry, which was carrying raw mangoes, was speeding, he said. Drivers often exceed the speed limit when they are carrying perishable items, the officer said.

“The ill-fated truck was on its way to a mandi (market) in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

The injured, including the truck driver, are undergoing treatment at the (Narsinghpur) district hospital. They have been quarantined, he said.

The bodies of the dead were sent home after post-mortem, the officer added.

The driver has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.