Chennai, Sep 22 (IANS): Three persons were killed after the two-wheeler they were travelling in was hit by an unknown vehicle in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai in the early hours of Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred on Arani-Arcot Bypass Road at the Sevoor village near Arani town.

The deceased have been identified as M. Saranraj (21), R. Manikandan (22) and R. Rajesh (19).

Saranraj and Rajesh belong to Mullipattu village while Manikandan was a resident of the neighbouring Ariyapadi village near Arani town.

The police said that Manikandan, who was unemployed, and Saranraj, who worked in a private finance firm in Arani, were classmates during their college days in Vellore.

Rajesh worked in a private jewellery showroom in Chennai and had visited his village for the weekend.

The trio decided to meet near Arani town.

As they were returning home, an unknown vehicle hit the trio, who were travelling in the same two-wheeler. Due to the impact, they were thrown out from the two-wheeler and died on the spot.

A few motorists noticed the trio and alerted the Arani Taluk police, who rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies to Government Taluk Hospital in Arani town for post-mortem.

The Arani police told IANS that they were analysing CCTV footage on the route to identify the vehicle that was involved in the accident.

The police also said that they have began the investigation and are checking all the CCTV cameras available in nearby shops and other establishments.