On August 30, a tragic multi-vehicle accident in Anna, Texas, resulted in the deaths of four Indian nationals, including two individuals from Hyderabad. The victims have been identified as Aryan Raghunath Orampati, Farooq Shaik, Lokesh Palacharla, and Darshini Vasudevan.

The victims were traveling to Bentonville, Arkansas, when their journey ended in tragedy due to a carpooling arrangement made through an app. Aryan Raghunath Orampati, who lived in Bentonville, was returning home after visiting a cousin in Dallas. Lokesh Palacharla was en route to Bentonville to see his wife, while Darshini Vasudevan, a recent Master’s degree graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington, was headed to visit her uncle in Bentonville.

The accident occurred around 3:30 PM as the victims were traveling via carpooling. The collision was so severe that it caused their SUV to burst into flames, making the identification of the victims extremely difficult. Authorities are currently using DNA fingerprinting and dental records to confirm their identities, a process complicated by the long holiday weekend in the United States.

Aryan Orampati, originally from Kukatpally, Hyderabad, had recently completed his engineering degree and was planning to work in the US for an additional two years before returning to India. His father, Subhash Chandra Reddy, is a business owner in Hyderabad. Farooq Shaik, also from Hyderabad, had moved to the US three years ago for his Master’s degree and was living in Bentonville. He was a close friend of Aryan Orampati.

The families of the victims are seeking assistance from Indian authorities, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, to expedite the identification process and facilitate the return of their loved ones’ remains to India.