Eighteen people were killed on the spot and 12 others injured when a lorry carrying them and a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus collided in Bellary district early on Friday morning, the police said.

The victims, all traveling in the lorry, were returning home after attending a marriage when the mishap occurred at Alur cross in the district, police said.

The condition of five of the injured was stated to be serious.

Police said the injured have been admitted to hospitals at Davangere and Chitradurga.