4 Indians charred to death in massive multi-car crash in US
PTC News Desk: Four Indians were charred to death in a massive crash involving five vehicles in US' Texas. The victims had met using a carpooling app and were on their way to Bentonville, Arkansas on Friday.
The crash caused a fire in the SUV they were in, and their bodies were charred. Authorities are doing DNA testing to confirm the identities.
The victims are identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Darshini Vasudevan. Orampati and his friend Shaik were returning from seeing his cousin in Dallas. Lokesh Palacharla was headed to Bentonville to meet his wife. Darshini Vasudevan, a University of Texas Master's degree graduate, was going to Bentonville to meet her uncle. They met through a carpooling service, which helped officials identify them.
According to sources, the terrible crash involved five vehicles. The victims were travelling in an SUV when a fast truck rear-ended them. The car caught fire, killing all of its occupants. To confirm identity, authorities are now using DNA fingerprinting, as well as teeth and bone remains. "DNA fingerprinting will be done to identify the bodies, and the samples will be matched with the parents,"a local authority said.
A long weekend in the United States has slowed the identification process, exacerbating the pain of the families affected by the tragedy. Darshini Vasudevan's parents have appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for assistance.
- With inputs from agencies
