As residents of the twin cities welcomed the New Year with much fanfare by organising fun-filled programmes to mark Monday evening, two persons were killed after a New Year party in the early hours of Tuesday.

The accident occurred near Itigatti Cross in Dharwad at around 3 a.m. between a car and truck killing one person on the spot. Another was killed on the way to hospital. The deceased were identified as Darshan Jnaneshwar Sarvade (26) and Manjunath Venkatesh Shivanagutti (25), both residents of Hubballi.

According to the police, Darshan, along with his friends, attended the New Year party in Hubballi and after the celebrations, they all reportedly went out of the city for a jolly ride in their car. Darshan, who was driving the car, lost control of the vehicle while trying to overtake another vehicle and rammed the truck. He was killed on the spot while Manjunath died on the way to hospital. Three injured persons, Vinay Deepak Pokale (25), Ravi Yallappa Kalal (34), both of Hubballi, and Raghavendra Ramarao Shintre (40) of Sirsi have been admitted to KIMS Hospital in Hubballi. Dharwad Rural Police have registered a case.