US News: Four Indians were killed in a horrific five-vehicle accident in Texas last week, NDTV reported. The dead were travelling in a carpool to Bentonville, Arkansas, when the fatal car pile-up occurred on August 30.
According to the report, the deceased have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Darshini Vasudevan, Farooq Shaikh and Lokesh Paracharla.
The SUV they were riding in was reportedly hit by a speeding truck and burst into flames, leaving the bodies too charred to be recognized. Authorities are using DNA testing to identify the bodies, and also using information from ride-sharing apps to identify them.
The long weekend in the United States delayed the identification process, leaving families anxious.
According to reports, Orampati and his friend Shaikh were returning to Arkansas after visiting a cousin in Texas, Paracharla was on his way to visit his wife, and Vasudevan was on his way to visit his uncle. Vasudevan had a master’s degree from the University of Texas and was working in the United States.
More about the victim
Orampati’s father, Subhash Chandra Reddy, owns a Hyderabad-based company called Max Agri Genetics. Aryan completed his engineering degree from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, NDTV reported.
A relative told the paper that Mr Orampati’s parents were travelling to the US in May to attend his graduation from the University of Texas and that he wanted to work in the US for a few years before returning home.
Orampati’s friend Shaikh is also from Hyderabad, while Darshini is from Tamil Nadu.
Shaikh’s father, Mastan Vali, told the publication that his son had travelled to the US to pursue a master’s degree in 2021. “My daughter is also living in the US and is dealing with the situation,” his father added.
Darshini’s father sought Jaishankar’s help.
According to reports, Darshini’s father, Vasudevan, had sought help from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar through social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on August 31 after he was unable to get in touch with her.
“Dear Sir, My daughter Darshini Vasudevan holds Indian passport number T6215559 and has been in the US for the last three years, two years of which is for Masters and one year of employment, residing at 3150 Avenue of the stars Apt 1110-Frisco, Texas-75034,” he wrote.
“Yesterday evening, she was in a carpool with three others from around 3pm to 4pm. She was actively messaging and was on the phone after 4pm, but we have been unable to get any further contact with her or the other three people who were travelling with her,” he added.
“She had booked a long weekend in advance for a trip and the trip was from Frisco to Bentonville (her uncle’s house). We as parents are really worried. We haven’t known about our daughter’s safety for almost 12 hours. Please help,” Vasudevan said.