Family and friends retrace the route the victims were walking. (AP)

Toronto, Aug. 26 (PTI): An Indo-Canadian family is mourning the deaths of six family members and friends killed by a pickup truck that ploughed through a crowd of revellers after a pre-wedding celebration.

More than 30 women and children were walking down the two-lane road late on Friday when they were struck from behind by a pickup in southwestern British Columbia.

Three men and three women, ranging in age from 14 to the mid-50s, died at the scene and 17 others were injured.

The youngest victims are a four-month-old and a seventh-month-old, who is in critical condition.

Most of the victims, who had come to attend the wedding of Avtar Mahal’s daughter Simran, were related, Abbotsford police said.

The group was participating in a traditional Indian wedding ritual called jaago and female members of the bride’s family were walking together from the house of a family friend to the bride’s residence.

They were singing when the pickup rammed into them, pushing some into a two-metre ditch and pinning them underneath.

The driver, a 71-year-old Indo-Canadian man, also lives in the area, neighbours said. The driver was questioned and released without charges. Investigators have ruled out alcohol and drugs and said speed also did not look like a factor.