TWO Australian university students have been shot, allegedly in a drug deal gone wrong, while holidaying in the US.
The New Orleans Advocate reports the men - aged 21 and 23 - were taken to hospital in a stable condition after suffering gunshot wounds in the early hours of Tuesday morning (local time). 
Western Australia's Curtin University has confirmed the students had competed in the 38th Intercollegiate Mining Games in Montana before heading to New Orleans for a private holiday.
One of the men was shot in the stomach and the other was hit in the chest. The newspaper reported the men had arranged to meet a drug dealer shortly after 4am when both students were shot.
Both students' parents are arranging to travel to the US to be with their injured sons.The students had finished the Games as part of the Wombats team for the university's WA School of Mines.