'It was the worst phone call of my life': Man who lost five of his family in early morning accident

New Delhi: It was early in the morning when the phone rang waking him up. A voice he did not recognise said six members of his family, including his three children, had met with an accident and their car had caught fire with people still inside.

Tanveer Ahmed feared the worst and called his brother in Budaun to verify if the family, which had gone to the Uttar Pradesh town for a wedding, had really left for Delhi. "It was the worst phone call of my life," the 60-year-old told PTI over the phone on Thursday.

Around 5.50 am on Wednesday, the car carrying much of his family, including his two-year-old grandson, had overturned and caught fire near the Chandauk crossing on the Jahangirabad–Bulandshahr road.

Five people were charred to death—his son Tanveez Ahmad (26), his daughter-in-law Nida (21), his daughter Momina (24), his son-in-law Zuber Ali (30), and his two-year-old grandson Zainul.

Tanveer's daughter, 15-year-old Gulnaz, survived but suffered critical injuries.

It was Gulnaz who gave Tanveer's phone number to the man who called him in the morning to inform him about the accident.

"My family was returning to Delhi after attending a wedding in Badaun. The accident happened early in the morning. Gulnaz survived and was rescued by someone," he said.

The family was originally from Chamanpura village in Badaun but had been residing in the Hauz Rani area of south Delhi's Malviya Nagar. Tanveez was an AC mechanic and Zuber was a house painter, Tanveer said.

Tanveer, who runs a furniture business in Hauz Rani, said he received the call around 6 am.

"The caller informed me about the condition of my son's car and asked me to reach the site immediately. Gulnaz couldn't speak at the time but somehow managed to recall my number," he said.

Police said the driver likely dozed off—like many early morning accidents—the car hit a culvert and overturned, eventually catching fire.

Tanveer said he immediately called his brother in Badaun and asked him to rush to the accident site.

He also attended the wedding but returned to Delhi on Tuesday evening. Tanveez and Zuber chose to leave early Wednesday morning to avoid Delhi's traffic.

"That decision proved fatal. The driver, Tanveez or Zuber, may have dozed off," he said.

The distraught father added that several family members had advised them not to travel so early in the morning.

"My wife and brother told them to wait until daylight, but they were in a hurry," Ahmad said.