Two men lost their lives on Sunday after a speeding vehicle struck their motorcycle in the Balasore district of Odisha.
The fatal incident occurred at Nampo Chak on State Highway 57 when the unidentified vehicle collided with their two-wheeler, according to a senior police official.
The deceased have been identified as 18-year-old Gautam Sahu and his 22-year-old friend, Chandrasekhar Mahapatra.
Both victims were residents of Bag village and were travelling toward the Jaleswar railway station when the accident occurred, the official said.
Officers from the Nampo Police Outpost arrived at the spot and shifted both men to JK Bhattar Hospital in Jaleswar, where medical staff declared them dead. The bodies have been set for post-mortem.
Authorities have initiated a search operation to locate the fleeing vehicle. Investigators suspect the vehicle involved may have been a truck carrying sand.
