PUDUKOTTAI: Five persons, mostly devotees, were killed and 19 others injured when a cement-laden lorry hit two vehicles before knocking down a roadside tea shop at Namanasamudram in the district, police said on Saturday.

The incident, which occurred in the wee hours, caught the devotees who had stopped at the tea stall unaware.

The driver of the lorry bound for Sivaganga from Ariyalur lost control of the vehicle, and hit a car and a van before ramming into the tea shop on the Tiruchi-Rameswaram highway, police said.

Devotees from Tiruvallur, were on a trip to Omshakthi temple while the van carried Ayyappa devotees.

Four persons died on the spot while another succumbed on the way to hospital, police said. The injured have been admitted to the Pudukottai Government Hospital.

Police and Fire service personnel rushed to Namanasamudram extricated the bodies and rushed the injured to the hospital. A case has been registered.