New Delhi: In a late-night accident, two cousins were burnt to death after their Fortuner SUV collided with a truck and caught fire in outer Delhi's Rani Bagh area in the early hours of Thursday. The incident took place around 3 am when the Fortuner, carrying the victims, rammed into a truck moving ahead of it.

According to Delhi Police sources, the impact was so severe that the SUV's bonnet got lodged under the truck and was dragged for nearly 400-500 metres before it burst into flames.

Both its occupants—Henry (20), a resident of Meera Bagh, and Dipanshu Chandela (21) from Paschim Vihar—were burnt inside the vehicle. Their bodies have been identified by their families.

Speaking to NDTV, one of their family members said the two victims were cousins and had left home around 2:30 am to have dinner at Murthal.

The police received a call regarding the accident around 3.10 am, following which a team from Rani Bagh Police Station rushed to the spot. Fire tenders were also deployed to put out the flames, but by the time the fire was controlled, both victims had died.

Their bodies were later sent for post-mortem and handed over to their families.

The truck's driver has been detained. He told the cops that he was on his way from Mundka to Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar when the SUV rammed into his truck from the rear.

A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway to ascertain whether speeding or any other factor led to the crash.

A member of the victims' family said Henry was pursuing a BBA degree in Pune and that his family had earlier lost his elder brother at a similar age. His father is into mobile tower installation work.

Dipanshu, a BBA student at a college in Rohini, was the son of a local property dealer and is survived by his parents and a sister.

Delhi Police are awaiting a mechanical inspection report of the vehicles involved to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Source: NDTV