Four college students died when the car in which they were travelling plunged into an open drain near Kelagina Thotta on the outskirts of Chikkaballapur around 10.30 pm on Saturday, December 9.

The deceased have been identified as Tagore, 21, a resident of Chintamani, Vasanth, 20, and Aryan,19, from Chikkaballapur, and Pavan, 20, a resident of Hebbal in Bengaluru. They were friends and studying in different colleges in Bengaluru, Superintendent of Police DL Nagesh told The New Indian Express.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the boys were going to Chikkaballapur from Bengaluru. Rash and negligent driving by Pavan could be the reason for the accident. The house of one of the boys is close to the spot where the accident occurred, Nagesh said.

Drivers and passengers of other vehicles alerted the police after seeing the car in the roadside drain. A police team from Chikkaballapur was sent to the spot immediately. Policemen along with some personnel from Fire and Emergency Services and villagers retrieved the bodies from the mangled car, he said.

Three of them died on the spot. One person was seriously injured and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries during the course of treatment.

A case was registered and investigation is under way, they said.