Bhopal, March 29 : Two students died after their bike plunged into a canal in Satna, a city approximately 500 km east of the state capital, Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday.

The incident, which occurred around 2 p.m. in the Kolgawan police station area of Satna, also left two others in critical condition as they attempted to rescue their friends.

According to Sudeep Soni, the in-charge of Kolgawan police station, the mishap involved four friends, all students of a private university in Satna, who were riding on two separate bikes. They were riding along a road parallel to the canal when one of the bikes suddenly lost control and plunged into the canal. The two students on this bike -- later identified as Anurag Singh and Vikas Pandey, both around 20 years old -- were unable to escape the deep waters and tragically drowned.

Witnessing their friends struggle, the two other students riding the second bike quickly jumped into the canal in an attempt to rescue them. However, despite their efforts, they could not save Anurag and Vikas. The two rescuers themselves nearly drowned, but bystanders in the area intervened and managed to pull them out of the water. The rescued students were in a semi-conscious state and were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

The canal, located behind Satna Medical College, receives water from the Bansagar Dam and is notably deep, making it particularly dangerous.

All four students had reportedly visited a water park earlier that day before the mishap occurred.

Upon receiving a call, a team from the Kolgawan police station arrived at the scene to initiate rescue operations. The officers successfully retrieved the bodies of Anurag Singh and Vikas Pandey from the canal.

Following legal procedures, the police sent the bodies for post-mortem examinations. Once these were completed, the deceased were handed over to their families.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the accident occurred due to the bike losing balance on the road adjacent to the canal, but authorities are conducting a thorough investigation to uncover additional details.

/IANS