Kathmandu, July 24 - A pilgrimage to the revered Pashupatinath temple of Nepal turned into a death trap for a group of Indian pilgrims with three dying in an early morning road smash in western Nepal Friday.

A bus, carrying mostly elderly Indian pilgrims, collided with another bus coming from the opposite direction in Gaidakot town in western Nepal's Nawalparasi district around 2.30 a.m., killing three passengers and injuring 20 more.

Ram Shankar Pandey, a 96-year-old man from Satna town in Madhya Pradesh, and his wife, 90-year-old Sita Devi, died in the accident.

While they died in Bharatpur Medical College and Hospital in Chitwan district in southern Nepal, a third passenger -- Phulmoti Soni from Bhopal -- died on the spot.

Twenty other passengers -- 16 Indians and four Nepalis -- were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

While most of them were discharged after preliminary treatment, four have been admitted to the hospital, its official Himnath Ghimire said.