Anamika Datta

Five members of an Australian family died in a highway crash in India at 3:30pm on Sunday 10^th January 2016(Indian Time). The incident occurred near Surir in Mathura. Adelaide Restaurant Owner Rupen Datta was on a six-week holiday to India to visit family when tragedy occurred. Rupen Datta survived the crash but his wife Anamika Datta, and their two daughters Neetika(12), Pipasa(15) , son Tirvijai(2) and Anamika’s sister Sonia all died in the horrific accident . Rupen Datta suffered head injuries and in critical condition.

The family was travelling to visit Taj Mahal when the crash happened on the Yamuna Expressway in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday Afternoon. The other passengers in the Toyota Qualis, Mrs Datta’s father N.K. Paliwal and the driver Shambu Paswan along with Mr Rupen Datta survived the crash.

Anamika Datta and Rupen Datta

One of the vehicles tyres burst causing the vehicle to crash into a safety barrier and then a road divider which resulted in the vehicle to overturn and land on the wrong side of the highway. Some of the passengers in the car were thrown in to the road as a result. The impact of the collision was so high that bodies were seen found lying in pool of blood nearly five to seven meters away from the mangled car.

Anamika Datta, her two daughters and her sister died at the scene. Her son Tirvijai was taken to Mathura hospital where he died after a short time later.

Mr Rupen Datta own the Urban India restaurant located at 127 Henley Beach Rd, Mile End in Adelaide. He is been running the restaurant for the past 11 years. The family hailed from Laxmi Nagar locality of New Delhi.

Yamuna expressway is infamous for accidents. In the last three years around 2600 accidents occurred, killing nearly 40 people. Locals identify two main reasons for the high number of accidents in the highway – over speeding by vehicles and faulty air pressure in tyres. But in the last three years the number of accidents increased at least 20 percentages compared to the previous years.

  Adelaide restuarant owner Rupen Datta, Anamika Datta, Urban India restaurant