Eight people, including a child, were charred to death in their SUV as it caught fire after hitting a truck in Bareilly district, the police said on Sunday.
The driver of the SUV lost control of the vehicle after a tyre puncture. It jumped the barrier onto the other side of the road and was hit by the truck coming from the opposite direction, they said.
The accident occurred late on Saturday near Dubhaura village in the Bhojipura area on the Bareilly-Nainital road, they added.
By the time the police reached the spot, the SUV was engulfed in flames, the police said.
Superintendent of Police Sushil Chandrabhan confirmed the deaths of the eight people, including the child.
The victims have been identified as Furkan (40), Mohammed Ayyub (36), Babu Mansoori (8), Mohammad Aalim (22), Mohammad Ashiq Shameem (34), Mohammad Asif (22), Mohammad Arif (24), Mohammad Shadab (19), all residents of the Baheri area, the police said.
According to the police, the SUV belonged to a grocery shop owner, Sumit Gupta, who had lent it to Furkan and company for attending a wedding in Bareilly.
The SUV went out of control just a kilometre ahead of the Bhojipura police station. When the car caught fire, those sitting inside were stuck as the doors of the car did not open, probably due to malfunctioning of the central locking system.
Bareilly’s Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Chandra Mohan Sharma said it was difficult to tell the reason for the accident. It may have been the tyre burst or the driver may have slept at the wheel, he said. The reason will become clear after the investigation by the forensic team, he added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has condoled the deaths.
