A t least 17 persons were killed and 33 injured in a major accident near Shedung on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway early Sunday morning.

A speeding luxury bus collided with two cars and then went off the road to crash into a farm around 15 feet below the highway.

The deceased include 10 women, 6 men and an eight-month-old infant. The private luxury bus in which they were travelling from Satara to Mumbai first hit two stationary cars — a Swift and an Innova — parked on the roadside.

The fatal mishap occurred on Sunday around 5am near Shivkhar village in Raigad district. The injured have been admitted to Panacea hospital in Panvel.

The death toll may rise as some of the passengers are grievously hurt, according to Raigad police.