4 Indians charred in multi-car crash in US, how were they connected?

Four Indians were charred to death after the SUV they were travelling in bursted into flames following a multi-car crash in Anna City in Texas, US.

The massive crash involving five vehicles took place on August 30 when Aryan Raghunath Orampati and his friend Farooq Shaik from Hyderabad, Lokesh Palacharla of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh and Darshini Vasudevan from Tamil Nadu were carpooling and going towards Bentonville City in Arkansas.

Three others sustained injuries in the accident that occurred just past White Street around 3:30pm on Friday.

How did the crash happen leaving 4 Indians killed in the US?

The accident took place after a speeding truck rammed into the SUV in which these four Indians were travelling in.

The impact was so severe that the SUV bursted into flames leaving all the four occupants trapped inside the vehicle. Due to the intensity of the fire, their bodies were charred beyond recognition.

Authorities are relying on DNA fingerprinting, using teeth and bone remnants to confirm the identities of the victims.

Were these victims connected?

As mentioned, the bodies were severely charred, making it difficult to identify, the authorities got to know that those dead were these four Indians as they were connected through a carpooling app for their journey to Bentonville.

They had tied up their travel plans using a carpooling app, which helped authorities identify them.

1 – Aryan Raghunath Orampati used to reside in Bentonville. He was returning home after visiting his cousin in Dallas.

2 – Farooq Shaik, who was also a resident of Bentonville, was returning with Aryan after meeting his cousin.

3 – Lokesh Palacharla was going to Bentonville to meet his wife.

4 – Darshini Vasudevan, a Master’s degree graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, who lived in Frisco, Texas, was travelling to Bentonville to see her uncle.

To confirm the identities of these four bodies, authorities are now relying on DNA fingerprinting and teeth and bone remains. As per a local authority, “DNA fingerprinting will be done to identify the bodies, and the samples will be matched with the parents.”

An extended weekend in the US has delayed the identification process, prolonging the suffering of the families shattered by the tragedy.

Parents of Darshini Vasudevan have been appealing to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for help. “We parents are really worried, and it’s almost data since we’ve known the status of our daughter,” her father said.