India, Sept. 13 -- Six people were killed and over 20 others injured after a truck lost control and plowed into a crowd of devotees during a Ganesh immersion procession in Karnataka's Hassan district on Friday evening, said police.

"Six people have died in the accident," Gorur police sub inspector P. Dhanraj told HT. According to another officer, the death toll could be higher as per the preliminary information from the hospitals.

Police said the truck, travelling from Hassan toward Holenarasipur, swerved abruptly to avoid a motorcyclist, veered off course and rammed into the procession in Mosale Hosahalli village, Holenarasipur taluk.

"Everything happened in a matter of seconds. People were singing and dancing, and suddenly we saw the...