Four Indians, including two from Hyderabad, killed in Texas pile-up accident – ​​India TV

New Delhi: In a tragic accident in the US state of Texas, four Indians were killed in a serious car crash involving a total of five vehicles. The accident occurred on Friday as the victims were travelling in a carpool towards Bentonville, Arkansas, when the accident occurred and the SUV they were travelling in burst into flames.

The victims were charred and were identified through DNA tests, according to several reports. They were identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla and Dharshini Vasudevan. Reports said Orampati and his friend Shaik were returning from visiting his cousin in Dallas, while Lokesh Palacharla was on his way to Bentonville to meet his wife.

Dharshini Vasudevan, a student at the University of Texas, was on her way to visit her uncle. All four victims were connected through a ride-sharing app, which helped in their identification after the fatal accident. Three years ago, Darshini Vasudevan's father had asked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for help in locating his daughter.

“@DrSJaishankar Dear Sir, My daughter Dharshini Vasudevan holds Indian passport no. T6215559 and is in the US for the last 3 years out of which 2 years for her Masters degree and 1 year as an employee. She resides at 3150 Avenue of the Stars, Apt. 1110-Frisco, Texas-75034,” Vasudevan said via X.

“Last night she was carpooling with three others. She was actively sending messages between 3 and 4 p.m. and was unreachable by phone after 4 p.m. No further contact could be made with her or the three other people who were traveling with her,” he added.

According to reports, Aryan Raghunath Orampati's father Subhash Chandra Reddy owns a company based in Hyderabad. He had completed his engineering degree from Coimbatore and studied at the University of Texas. His friend Shaik was also from Hyderabad and lived in Bentonville. Dharshini was from Tamil Nadu and lived in Frisco, Texas.

A long weekend in the USA delayed the identification process and prolonged the suffering of the victims' families. Witnesses reported that traffic on the highway had slowed down, but a car travelling at high speed did not slow down and crashed into the SUV. As a result of the serious accident, the four occupants were unable to escape from the vehicle and burned to death.

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