Kozhikode (Kerala) | Four people lost their lives in two separate road accidents in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts between late Thursday night and the early hours of Friday, police said.

In the first incident, three members of a family, including two women, were killed after their car crashed into the rear of a parked lorry on the national highway at Kohinoor in Malappuram district late on Thursday night.

The deceased were residents of Thrissur district.

Police said the accident occurred around 11.40 pm while the family was returning home after a visit to Kozhikode Beach.

The incident occurred when the car they were travelling in reportedly lost control and rammed into a lorry parked on the roadside, a police officer said.

Heavy rain at the time delayed rescue efforts.

Local residents rushed to the spot after being alerted by a passer-by and worked for nearly 20 minutes to free the occupants trapped inside the badly damaged vehicle.

The injured were taken to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where all three were declared dead.

In a separate accident in the wee hours of Friday, an 82-year-old woman died after the ambulance carrying her overturned near Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode district.

The deceased, hailing from Peringolam, was being transported in the ambulance when it reportedly skidded on a rain-soaked road and overturned at around 1.30 am, police said.

A woman relative of her's who was travelling in the vehicle escaped with minor injuries, police said.

Police said preliminary findings suggest the ambulance lost control due to slippery road conditions caused by the rain.