Two school students were killed and three others injured after an autorickshaw in which they were travelling was hit by a pick-up van in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred around 2 pm near Karmadih Chowk under the Sadar Police Station limits, around 200 km from the state capital Ranchi, when the collision between the two vehicles took place.

"The pick-up van hit the three-wheeler. Two students were killed, and three others, including two students, were injured in the accident. The injured were admitted to the Garhwa Sadar Hospital," Sadar Police Station in-charge Brij Kumar said.

Around six children, all students of classes 2 and 3, were returning home from school in the autorickshaw, when the accident occurred.

The driver of the pick-up van escaped from the spot soon after the accident, the police officer.

Locals set the pick-up van on fire and blocked the road for a brief period, demanding immediate action against the culprit. They also stopped firefighters to douse the fire.

Adequate police personnel were deployed to control the situation, the officer added.

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