COIMBATORE: Two people, including an anti-poaching watcher, were killed in a head-on collision between their two-wheelers in Erode on Monday.

Police identified the deceased as R Dasarathan (28), a forest anti-poaching watcher from Chennampatti Forest Range, and Senthil Kumar (40), from Nerinjipettai in Ammapet, near Erode, who ran an electrical shop at Mettur in Salem.

Police said Senthil Kumar was returning home on his scooter along with his wife Aruna after visiting the weekly market at Guruvarattiyur, when the mishap happened. While passing near a private school, a two-wheeler ridden by Dasarathan with his friend Chinna Anand (36) from Jalakandapuram, collided head-on with his vehicle.

In the impact, Senthil Kumar was thrown off the vehicle and suffered severe injuries, resulting in his death on the spot, while Dasarathan succumbed to injuries on the way to Perundurai Government Medical College and Hospital.

Two others were admitted to different private hospitals for treatment. The Ammapet police have registered a case, and further inquiries are on.

Meanwhile, the death toll, after a car rammed into a group of women attempting to cross the Coimbatore- Pollachi highway near Kinathukadavu in Pollachi near Coimbatore, on 8 December, rose to three on Monday.

Police said Kuppu (70), wife of Jagadeesan from MGR Nagar in Sundarapuram, along with her relatives Radha (40), Kaliammal (35), and Barathi (32), visited an astrologer and were returning on foot when a speeding car driven by a woman identified as Nesamani ran over them. Police said that while Kuppu and Nesamani died earlier, Radha also succumbed to injuries. Two others are still under treatment.