Three persons were burnt to death and two others sustained injuries after a microvan and an SUV collided, and burst into flames on Wednesday evening on Anand Vihar flyway in Shahdara, the police said.
The deceased have been identified as 30-year-old Krishna Nagar resident Garv Sehgal, who was in the SUV; and microvan occupants Shamshad (28) from Mustafabad and Abdul. Sarita Vihar resident Akshay Jain (21), who was in the SUV, has sustained severe injuries, while 28-year-old Imran, who was in the van, has been declared fit for statement, the police said.
The SUV and the microvan were on opposite carriageways moments before the incident, which was reported at 6.15 p.m., they said. The SUV driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle, hit the median and went over to the other side of the road before hitting the microvan.
“The microvan was travelling to Anand Vihar from Dilshad Garden, while the SUV was going from Vivek Vihar towards NH-24 at the time of the incident,” said a police officer.
The police said they are yet to determine what led to the accident and whether the SUV occupants were drunk at the time of collision. There is no CCTV camera footage of the crash. An eyewitness said that both cars burst into flames after the collision. Passers-by managed to evacuate Akshay and Imran to safety but others got burnt to death. The police and the Fire Brigade were informed. The Fire Department rushed two engines to the spot to douse fire.