Overview

• A Swift Dzire and a Tata Harrier collided on the Surendranagar–Ahmedabad highway near Dedadara at around 3:30 PM on August 17, sending the smaller car into a roadside ditch where it burst into flames.
• All occupants of the Swift Dzire—believed to be members of the same extended family—were charred to death, while three passengers in the SUV escaped with minor injuries.
• Local residents, Vadhvan police teams, fire brigade personnel and a 108 emergency unit extinguished the fire and recovered the severely burned bodies.
• Initial reports fluctuated between seven, eight and an unconfirmed nine fatalities, prompting authorities to rely on belongings and DNA sampling for accurate identification.
• Surendranagar district police have launched a probe into the crash’s cause as charred bodies undergo postmortem examinations at the government hospital.