Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: In an accident on the Nainital Highway, a car carrying eight people, including an eight-year-old boy, was engulfed in flames after colliding with a dumper on Saturday night. The passengers, returning from a wedding ceremony in Bareilly, were burnt to death.
The accident occurred around 11 pm, approximately one kilometer from Bhojipura police station. Eyewitnesses reported that the car, identified as an Ertiga (CNG), lost control at high speed, broke through the divider, and collided with an oncoming dumper, resulting in an explosion.
The dumper driver managed to escape, but the car's occupants got trapped inside and were unable to break free. Despite attempts by passersby to extinguish the flames with fire extinguishers, the fire claimed all eight lives within minutes.
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The victims, including the driver Furkan, had attended a wedding at Faham Lane in Bareilly.
#WATCH | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: Bareilly SSP Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan says, "Near Bhojipura, an accident occurred on the highway... A car collided with a truck. The car got dragged and then caught fire... The car was centrally locked, hence the people inside the car lost their… pic.twitter.com/HtfUUB8bSK
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) December 10, 2023
Bareilly SSP Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan, who arrived at the scene, stated that identifying the burnt bodies might take time. Sumit Gupta, the owner of the grocery shop where the car was reportedly borrowed, confirmed that Asif, a customer, had requested the vehicle for the wedding. Furkan, the driver and nephew of Asif, had been entrusted with the car.
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Bareilly SSP Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan expressed the difficulty in ascertaining the victims' identities, stating that all the bodies had been completely burnt. Post-mortem examinations are underway to provide more clarity.
CO Chaman Singh Chavda mentioned that Sumit, the car owner, is under interrogation, and there are suspicions that the vehicle might have been operating without proper taxi registration.
Despite efforts by two fire brigade vehicles to extinguish the fire, all eight individuals lost their lives in the accident. The investigation is ongoing to determine the exact cause of the fire and any potential negligence leading to the horrific incident.
CO Chaman Singh Chavda said that initial information has been received from car owner Sumit. He says that Furkan had taken the car saying that he was attending a relative's wedding. There is no information about who was traveling in it.