Three persons, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed and six persons injured after a car collided with a van on Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48) at Kondapuram village near Walajah town in Ranipet on Tuesday evening.

The police said the deceased were identified as K. Seetharaman 60, a resident of Chennai, Sri Mathi, 7, and R. Madan, 40, a resident of Ranipet.

Initial inquiry revealed that a private shoe company’s van was headed to Panapakkam village from Ranipet town with 15 workers when the van driver Madhavan lost control of the vehicle and rammed the steel median. As a result, the van jumped to the opposite lane of the stretch and hit the car. Seetharaman and Sri Mathi were travelling in the car. The accident occurred around 8 p.m.

The police said passersby rescued the injured persons. On being informed, police personnel from Kaveripakkam police rushed to the spot. Injured persons were admitted at Government Taluk Hospital in Walajah town for treatment. Bodies were sent to the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for postmortem.

The police said the region has been witnessing heavy downpour for the past few hours before the accident happened. The carriageway was wet and inundated at a few spots. Mangled vehicles were towed from the carriageway to restore traffic movement on the route. A case was registered. A probe is under way.