Two Killed as CNG Car Explodes After Divider Crash on Kanpur-Etawah Highway

Two men were charred to death after their CNG-powered car caught fire following a collision with a road divider on the Kanpur-Etawah highway in Kanpur Dehat district early Monday morning, police officials said.

The accident took place near Mungisapur in Derapur, when a Volkswagen Vento travelling from Delhi towards Kanpur reportedly went out of control and rammed into a roadside divider. The impact is suspected to have triggered an explosion in the vehicle’s CNG tank, causing the car to be engulfed in flames within moments.

According to officials, the fire spread rapidly, leaving the occupants with no time to escape. Firefighters were called to the spot and took nearly 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control. After extinguishing the flames, two severely burnt bodies were recovered from the vehicle.

The deceased were identified as Om Shukla (23), who operated a two-wheeler and car repair shop, and Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, who was driving the vehicle, said Circle Officer (Derapur) Dharmendra Kumar Singh.

Police confirmed their identities with the help of an Aadhaar card recovered from the burnt car. Both victims were residents of Kanpur and had travelled to Delhi to purchase automobile spare parts before beginning their journey back home.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, while the damaged vehicle has been removed from the highway to clear traffic movement.

Preliminary investigation suggests that overspeeding and the possibility of the driver falling asleep at the wheel may have contributed to the accident. However, officials said the exact cause of the crash is yet to be established.

Police are also examining CCTV footage from the highway and nearby areas to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the fatal accident. Further investigation into the incident is underway.