The two Belgian women were in Italy on holiday.

Two Belgian tourists were killed in a hit-and-run incident on a link road to the A24 motorway near Tor Cervara, an eastern suburb of Rome, on Saturday night.

The two women, identified by Italian media as Jessy Dewildeman (24) and Wibe Bijls (26), had just arrived in Rome on vacation.

The tragedy occurred after the tourists got out of the NCC vehicle (car hire with driver) in which they were travelling to help some people involved in another accident that had taken place moments before.

Suddenly, however, another vehicle ran into the two women head-on, throwing them metres away. The driver fled the scene, according to Italian news reports.

The motorists involved in the previous crash were also seriously injured and hospitalised.

An investigation is underway by Rome traffic police who reportedly identified a suspect in relation to the hit-and-run and brought him in for questioning on Sunday night.