Two persons were killed and 16, including 15 NLC football players, injured when two buses collided near Salem on Saturday, police said.     The driver and assistant driver of the public sector Neyveli Lignite Corporation bus died in the mishap, Salem superintendent of police Aswin Kotnis said.

The NLC players were proceeding to Udhagamandalam (Ooty) to play a football match on Saturday while the government bus was on its way from Mettupalayam to Chennai.

The injured have been admitted to various hospitals.