The toll in the road accident in Rajasthan’s Churu district rose to four after one of the injured died during treatment, police said on Friday.
Abhijit Patil, circle officer, Rajgarh, told HT that the bodies of the deceased were charred beyond recognition, making immediate identification difficult. Following a DNA test, the deceased have been identified as Rohit, Sandip and Ankit, along with Kamal (22), who died during treatment at SMS Hospital in Jaipur, Patil added.
The accident occurred on Thursday night on the Pilani–Sadulpur road, near the Thirpali village toll plaza in the Hamirwas police station area, when a sports utility vehicle collided head-on with a dumper truck and caught fire.
Three occupants were burnt alive at the scene, while five others were pulled out with serious injuries.
Rescue operations were carried out with the help of local residents, who assisted in pulling out the injured from the mangled vehicles before they were moved to nearby hospitals.
The injured were identified as Pankaj (20) and Anand (20) from Mandarpura village in Hanumangarh district, Vikas (24) from Sidhmukh town in Churu, and Ashish from Hisar district in Haryana, he said.
Preliminary investigation suggests the SUV, registered in Churu, was returning from a wedding in Pilani. Patil said efforts are underway to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.
