Five labourers were killed and as many others injured after being run over by a truck on a highway in Maharashtra's Buldhana district on Monday, police said.

The accident took place at around 5.30 am when the labourers were sleeping in makeshift huts along the side of a service road being constructed in Wadner Bholji village of the district, a senior police official told PTI.

A truck plying on the road ran over the labourers, he said.

Three persons died on the spot and two others succumbed to injuries in hospital, the official said.

Five persons received injuries in the incident, he said.

The truck driver is absconding, the official said, adding an investigation is on into the incident.

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