Four persons were killed and another sustained critical injuries when an SUV by which they were travelling hit a roadside tree near Saraguda area under the Dabugam police limits in Nabarangpur district late on Friday night.
The deceased were identified as Sheikh Saddam (25), Rabin Hial (26) and Saban Benia (25) from Nabarangpur town and Ansar Khan (24) from Papadahandi in the district. The injured person Saqib Khan (25) from Papadahandi is undergoing treatment at the Saheed Laxman Nayak (SLN) Medical College Hospital in Koraput.
According to reports, the nfive youth were travelling by a Hyundai Creta from Nabarangpur to Umarkote when the vehicle rammed into the tree due to fog, killing three occupants on the spot.
The youths were travelling together to see Rabin Hial off in Umarkote, where the latter was working with a finance company.
On receiving information, the Dabugam police reached the site and rushed two injured persons to the Dabugam Community Health Centre. Later, the victims were taken to the SLN Hospital in Koraput.
The bodies were handed over to their respective families following postmortem in the afternoon.