Seven men were killed and one was grievously injured when a speeding car rammed into a trailer truck on a highway near Himatnagar in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district early Wednesday morning, police said.

Due to the impact of the crash, the car was badly mangled and the bodies were retrieved after hectic efforts, they said.

Rescue teams had to use a gas-cutter to remove the car scrap to pull out the bodies, an official said.

The accident occurred on a national highway connecting Udaipur (in Rajasthan) to Ahmedabad (Gujarat) at around 6.30 am, according to police.

"Seven car occupants were killed in the accident," Superintendent of Police Vijay Patel said.

"The car was carrying eight persons to Ahmedabad when it hit the trailer truck from behind while it was going ahead on the national highway," a Himatnagar police official said.

One passenger was grievously injured and rushed to a civil hospital for treatment, he said.

All the deceased were men, hailing from Ahmedabad. Their identities were being confirmed, the official said.

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