Palakkad: Three young men were killed after their car lost control and plunged into a paddy field near Kallingal Junction at Chittoor here on Saturday. All three died on the spot, while three other passengers were injured.

The deceased are Rohan (24), son of Ranjith of Nooradi Road, Palakkad; Rohan Santhosh (22), son of Santhosh from Nurani; and Sanoosh (19), son of Santhakumar from Yakkara.

The injured are Adithyan (23) of Chandranagar, Rishi (24) of Yakkara, and Jithin (21) of Nenmara.

According to reports, the accident occurred around 11 pm. It is learnt that the driver lost control of the vehicle while attempting to avoid a wild boar that suddenly crossed the road. The car hit a survey stone and a tree before plunging into the paddy field. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the crash.

A police officer said one of the survivors were admitted to a hospital in Thrissur while two others were rushed to a facility in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

"They sustained only minor injuries. As per their statement, the car was at high speed and the driver suddenly applied the brake as he saw a shadow-like thing, suspected to be a wild animal, on the road causing the accident," he said.

Police said the six friends were travelling to Palakkad from Chittoor as part of their usual weekend outing. They were pulled out of the vehicle by local people, police and fire service personnel.

"Straying of wild boars is a great concern here. The injured said some wild animal like a boar hit at the vehicle," a local resident told reporters.