Four of family burnt to death after car catches fire in UP's Saharanpur

The driver initially failed to stop the car as brakes were not functioning. Even the windows and doors could not be opened. The fire may be due to short-circuit but probe is on, police said.

Saharanpur: In a horrific accident, four members of a family were burnt alive after the car they were travelling in caught fire on the Ambala-Dehradun highway in Rampur Maniharan area in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur on Tuesday, police said.

Locals reached at the spot but before they could understand anything, the car was completely burnt. Police sent the bodies for postmortem. "It seems that the fire may have been caused due to short-circuit. We have initiated a probe to ascertain the exact cause of fire, police said.

It was learnt that the family, hailing from Jwalapur town of Uttarakhand's Haridwar district was traveling in a car on the Ambala-Dehradun highway. As soon as the car reached Rampur Maniharan area of Saharanpur police station, suddenly a fire broke out. Police said it appears that before the driver and the family could gauge anything, the flames engulfed them.

People gathered on both sides of the highway trying to understand as to what could have happened. According to eyewitnesses, four persons were traveling in the car when the accident occurred. The driver attempted to stop the car but the brakes were not functioning due to burnt wiring. Somehow the car was stopped after sometime but neither the doors nor windows could be opened. All four passengers were burnt alive inside the car, police said.

After being informed by the local people, the fire brigade team reached the spot but by then it was too late. The fire official along with police extinguished the fire and recovered the bodies. "Prima facie the cause of the fire seems to be short circuit", police said.