Twelve civilians, including four women, returning from a wedding were killed in Maharashtra yesterday when their vehicle ran over a landmine planted by Maoist rebels, police said.

The blast took place in Gadhchiroli district of Maharashtra, a few miles from its border with Chhattisgarh, a region infested with left-wing extremists.

The jeep carrying the victims was part of a convoy of four vehicles returning to Pakhanjoor town in Chhattisgarh from a wedding in Gadhchiroli, police said.

They said police teams from the two states had launched a hunt for the rebels in the jungles in the area.

Half of Chhattisgarh's 16 districts, besides several adjacent districts in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, have a significant presence of Maoist rebels who claim they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless labourers.