Two Japanese women were killed and two were seriously injured in a car crash in Ontario, Canada, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Miki Fujita, 26, and Ayako Shimizu, 24, were killed, while Noriko Saito, 27, and Chieko Naito, 28, were seriously injured, the ministry said, citing information from the Japanese Consulate General in Toronto. Saito and Naito were hospitalized.

According to police, the accident occurred at around 11:40 a.m. Thursday about 30 km east of Nipigon on the coast of Lake Superior. The four were in a rented car. It was not immediately known who was behind the wheel when the accident occurred.

Japanese diplomats from Toronto headed to the scene to help establish their identities, Foreign Ministry officials said.

Ministry officials said it had unconfirmed information that the four involved in the accident were studying in Canada.