Nine people died and 28 were injured as the driver of a luxury bus suffered a heart attack which led to the vehicle going out of control and ploughing into an SUV on the highway in Gujarat’s Navsari district early on Saturday morning.

Eight of the nine occupants of the Toyota Fortuner car died, and 28 people in the bus were injured. The luxury bus was going from Surat to Valsad.

The bus passengers were returning to Valsad after attending the Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav event. The driver was admitted to a hospital for treatment, where he died.

The accident occurred near Vesma village, while the SUV was coming from the opposite direction,

Those travelling in the SUV were residents of Ankleshwar in Gujarat, and they were on their way back to their hometown from Valsad, Navsari Superintendent of Police (SP) Rushikesh Upadhyay said.

The accident disrupted traffic on the highway until police towed away the damaged vehicle with a crane.