Twenty-seven members of a marriage party, including four children, were killed and 26 others injured when a speeding auto rammed in a stationary bus at Khalapur on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

The incident took place in the wee hours around 1 am when the tyres of one of the mini-buses carrying a marriage party got punctured on the highway and was parked on the roadside while another bus was stationed just behind the vehicle, helping it out with the repairs, they said.

The mishap occurred when a high-speeding auto lost control and rammed into the second mini bus from the rear, crushing people seated on the road between both the vehicles, police said.

The deceased including women and children were returning to Pune after attending a wedding at suburban Ghatkopar in Mumbai, they said.

The injured have been admitted to MGM hospital at Panvel and Pune's sassoon hospital, where three victims were pronounced dead on arrival, police said.

The deceased have not been identified yet. The auto driver has been detained at Khalapur in Raigad district, they added.