A speeding truck rammed  into a rickshaw in eastern India killing at least 12 passengers, police said Monday.

The dead were returning from a Hindu festival late Sunday when the truck rammed the vehicle on a highway in Jharkhand state's Gumla district, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from state capital Ranchi.

A hunt is on for the truck driver who sped away from the accident, Gumla police chief Anshuman Kumar told AFP.

He said four other passengers were in hospital with serious injuries.AFP/APP