Ayodhya: Three including a para-medical staff member from Lucknow and two medical students were killed in a road accident in Ayodhya on Friday, police said.

The accident occurred around 5:00 AM in the Rudauli police station area when a speeding car collided with a minibus, police said.

According to police, the impact of the collision was so severe that the front of the car was completely crushed, killing three of its occupants on the spot.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Hussain, a lab assistant at a Lucknow hospital, and medical students Rachna and Upasana, both from Kannauj.

Two other medical students, Sneha and Neetu, were critically injured and had to be extricated from the wreckage using a gas cutter.

Meanwhile, 13 passengers in the minibus were injured, with two reported to be in a critical condition. The injured were rushed to a nearby community health centre for treatment.

The minibus, which was carrying 13 members of a family, was also severely damaged in the crash.

The family members, identified as Sunil Jaiswal, Sandeep Jaiswal, Vandana Jaiswal, and others, were injured.

Police suspect that fog and overspeeding may have contributed to the accident, as the fog obscured visibility, leading the car to crash into the minibus.

Rudauli police station in-charge, Inspector Sanjay Maurya said, “The bodies of the deceased were extracted from the car wreckage after extensive efforts. The case is under further investigation,” he added.