Two men drowned on Monday after the intoxicated driver of the motorbike on which they were travelling lost control and crashed into a canal in Battambang province, police said.

Sea Thy, police chief of Battambang’s Rokhakiri district, said the victims have been identified as Ny Huy, 32, and his uncle Ngarn Sea, 52.

Both men had been drinking before the accident at a pub near the market in Prey Ampoan village, in Sdok Brovoek commune, and had left together on the motorbike with Huy driving.

According to Thy, Huy had been driving too fast. When the motorbike reached a curve in the road, it toppled and slid, along with the two men, into a roadside canal, where the two men subsequently drowned.

“Villagers and authorities living near the accident site ran toward the scene to help the victims, but they had already died,” Thy said. “This accident happened because of careless drunk driving.”

Authorities have handed over the bodies to relatives for a funeral ceremony. The motorbike was also returned to the family, he said.