Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS): Five students of a private engineering college lost their lives when an MUV in which they were travelling had a head-on collision with a truck coming from the opposite direction.

Two students escaped with injuries and were admitted to the hospital

The tragic accident occurred near Tiruttani in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu on Sunday night. The victims were all third-year engineering students studying in a private engineering college in the city. They were heading to their native Ongole in Andhra Pradesh from Chennai when the accident occurred.

Police said that the Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV) in which the students were travelling was at a high speed and the driver lost control and hit the truck coming in the opposite direction.

The deceased were identified as Chetan (24), Nitish Varma (20), Nitesh (20), Ram Mohan Reddy (21) and Yogesh (21).

Chaitanya (21) and Vishnu (20) are severely injured and admitted to a hospital.

Local people, the Tiruvallur police and Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services had to break open the MUV which had overturned to retrieve the bodies and the injured stuck in the ill-fated vehicle.

Police said that there was a roadblock for more than an hour on the Chennai -Tirupati highway at Tiruttani due to the accident.

Tiruttani police have registered a case and are investigating.