Child among 8 burnt alive after car collides with truck on UP highway

In a horrific accident, a car collided with a truck on the Bareilly-Nainital highway near Bhojipura in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday night and eight people, including a child, were burnt to death inside the car after the vehicle caught fire. The victims were on their way back home after attending a wedding, and according to the police, the car was centrally locked, due to which people travelling in the car were unable to escape.

After the collision struck the truck's dumper, one of the tyres exploded, causing the vehicle to drift off the other side of the road; after that, the car got dragged and crashed with the dumper. The dumber was carrying sand gravel from Uttarakhand. Two people travelling in the dumper were also critically injured after the accident.

An eyewitness told the news agency PTI that a tyre of the car burst, resulting in a head-on collision with a dumper. The crash was followed by a loud explosion as the two vehicles went up in flames, leading to locals rushing out of their houses to help and inform the police.

A police team quickly arrived at the accident spot, and fire engines were called to douse off the fire. However, because the car's doors were locked from the inside, the people inside were burned alive.

"An Ertiga collided with a truck on the (Nainital) highway,” Bareilly Special Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan told PTI.

"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 lives due to the fire. The bodies have been taken out. There are 7 adults and one child. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and further action is underway," Chandrabhan told news agency ANI.

While further investigation into the matter is being conducted, the authorities are trying to inform the families of the deceased.

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