Two killed by car on way home from Carnival party in western Germany

A Frontex and boat refugees float takes part in the Rose Monday parade. The Rhineland Street Carnival reaches its climax with the Rose Monday parade. The motto of the 2024 Cologne Carnival season is "Wat e Theater - wat e Jeckespill". Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa

Two young men were hit by a car and fatally injured near the German city of Cologne while on the way home from a Carnival party.

The two men, aged 18 and 20, were walking along an unlit country road in Weilerswist on Sunday evening. The driver of the car was unable to react in time and hit them both, police said on Monday.

The 20-year-old died at the scene of the accident, the 18-year-old a little later in hospital.

A police spokesman said people celebrating Carnival had been walking along the country road all day. The route leads from the main town of Weilerswist to the district of Metternich, where a large carnival parade took place on Sunday.