Two labourers were killed and 16 others injured when a four-wheeler hit a truck from behind near Utelwa here on the Lucknow-Varanasi highway early on Wednesday morning, police said.
The vehicle carrying 18 labourers, who worked in a bread factory in Varanasi, was on its way to Lucknow when the incident occurred around 4 a.m., SHO of the Kamrauli Police Station Abhinesh Kumar said.
It is suspected that the driver of the vehicle was sleepy when it hit the truck from behind, the police officer said.
While Manoj Kumar and Ram Kishore, both aged 30 and residents of Sitapur died on the spot, the injured, including eight whose condition is stated to be critical, are undergoing treatment at a hospital, the SHO said.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, the officer added.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI)