Thiruvananthapuram | Three persons were killed after the motorcycle they were riding crashed into a footpath here in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Pranav and Sajin, natives of Neyyattinkara, and Hrithik, a native of another state.

Police officials said the deceased were employees of a restaurant.

The accident occurred at Karamana around 1.30 am when the trio were returning from the restaurant on a motorcycle.

The speeding motorcycle lost control while negotiating a curve, police said.

The bike first hit a footpath and then rammed into two motorcycles parked by the roadside.

Although the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, all three succumbed to their injuries.

Karamana Police, which has launched a probe, said the riders were suspected to have been travelling without wearing helmets and had suffered severe head injuries.

The bodies of the deceased will be handed over to their relatives after the postmortem, police said.