"The pilgrims were returning from Chintpurni shrine in Himachal Pradesh and were headed to Begowal in Punjab's Kapurthala district when the accident occurred," Hoshiarpur SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said.

He said the accident, in which some children were also killed, occurred near the Punjab-HP border. All the injured pilgrims were admitted in local Civil Hospital from where four have been referred to DMC, Ludhiana in a critical condition.