In a gruesome accident, five members of a family were killed after the car they were travelling in hit a divider, overturned and fell off the road in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.

The incident took place at Mamadugu village in Chittoor district on the national highway connecting Bengaluru and Tirupati at around 10 am. 

The five victims included three children and two women. According to police officials, the car was being driven by Vishnu, who works as  junior assistant at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. He was travelling from Tirupati to Bengaluru along with his family.

In a tragic fire accident in Chittoor, five persons including two children were charred to death in the car. The lone survivor is battling for life. Police say that rash driving by the survivor caused the accident. pic.twitter.com/QtdZHq8zYx

— Bala (@naartthigan) September 14, 2019

While Vishnu managed to escape, his wife, sister, two children and niece were burnt to death in the fire.The deceased were identified as Jahnavi, Kala, Bhanuteja, Pavan Ram and Sai Ashrita.

Chittoor Superintendent of Police Venkata Appala Naidu, told TNM that preliminary investigation reveals that the accident was caused due to negligence of the driver. "Prima facie evidence reveals that the car must have been driven at a high speed, and the vehicle must have slid against the divider causing sparks due to friction and stoked a fire."

The SP added, "The district transport officials are also arriving for a joint investigation to find out the reason for the accident."  While all the five occupants were charred to death, the driver Vishnu managed to break open the car's window and escape, the SP said.

Vishnu is critical after sustaining burn injuries and was shifted to a nearby hospital in Chittoor. Officials are contemplating shifting him to a hospital in Tirupati for treatment.