Four Indian nationals were tragically killed on Aug.30 when the SUV they were traveling in burst into flames following a multi-car crash in Anna City, Texas.
The fatal accident involved five vehicles and occurred when a speeding truck slammed into the SUV, leaving the passengers trapped as the vehicle caught fire.
The victims, identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Darshini Vasudevan, were on their way to Bentonville, Arkansas, using a carpooling app. All four were charred beyond recognition due to the intensity of the flames.
Authorities are now relying on DNA fingerprinting, using teeth and bone remains, to confirm the identities of the victims. "DNA fingerprinting will be done to identify the bodies, and the samples will be matched with the parents," a local official said.
Aryan Raghunath Orampati, originally from Hyderabad, was a resident of Bentonville and was returning home after visiting his cousin in Dallas. Farooq Shaik, also a Bentonville resident, was traveling with Aryan after meeting his cousin. Lokesh Palacharla, from East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, was heading to Bentonville to meet his wife. Darshini Vasudevan, a Master's degree graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, was living in Frisco, Texas, and traveling to Bentonville to visit her uncle.
Darshini Vasudevan’s parents have reached out to India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, for assistance. "We parents are really worried, and it’s almost been days since we’ve known the status of our daughter,” her father said in a statement.
The crash also left three others injured. An extended holiday weekend in the U.S. has delayed the identification process, compounding the anguish of the victims’ families.
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