A truck crashed into a car killing five relatives in India.

The family were returning home from a wedding when a stray cow reportedly appeared in front of their car along the Bareilly-Farrukhabad highway in Uttar Pradesh state on December 18 evening.

The driver swerved but crashed into an oncoming truck. Bystanders alerted the police and initiated a rescue operation.

The Shahjahanpur District Police Superintendent said: 'A tragic incident occurred in Shahjahanpur district involving a collision between a truck and an auto-rickshaw.

'Three people lost their lives on the spot, and two more succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the hospital, bringing the total death toll to five so far. Five other passengers, out of a total of ten on board, have also sustained injuries.

'Two children have sustained fractures, and their treatment is proceeding well. If necessary, critical cases will be referred to higher medical centres, as decided by the attending doctors.'

The deceased were identified as Riyasat Ali, 40, his wife Aamna, 38, and their daughter Gudiya, 6. A woman named Annu and her daughter Noor, 7, died at the hospital.

The injured individuals were taken to Madanapur Community Health Centre (CHC) and later transferred to the Government Medical College in critical condition.

The truck driver has been arrested for investigation.

India has a high rate of traffic accidents due to poor road infrastructure, lack of traffic rule enforcement, and high vehicle density. Risky driving behaviour such as speeding, overloading, and inadequate training also often go unpunished.

The country also has hundreds of thousands of cows roaming its streets.

It is partly due to devout locals who follow Hindu customs, with cows regarded as sacred animals that cannot be eaten or slaughtered once they have stopped producing milk. The majority of states ban the sale or slaughter of cows.

Instead of dealing with the economic burden of keeping their spent cattle, many farmers let the beasts roam the streets - leading to chaos when the animals become agitated and turn their fury on humans.