Zirakpur (Punjab), Dec 4 (Inditop.com) Two businessmen in their mid-thirties were burnt alive after their car caught fire when it hit an oil-tanker, near the sales tax barrier here, police said Friday.

The accident occurred late Thursday night.

According to the police, the deceased Mohit Khanna and Mumtaz were travelling from Chandigarh towards this town, in their Honda City car, when the accident took place.

“Street lights were not on and due to poor visibility during the night, Mohit, who was driving the car, did not notice the tanker that was taking a u-turn on this Chandigarh-Ambala national highway,” said a police official.

He added: “After the collision, oil started leaking and both vehicles caught fire. Occupants of the car were stuck inside while the driver of the truck fled from the spot.”

Five fire-brigade vehicles were pressed into service to control the fire. Due to the accident, traffic remained blocked on this busy highway for over two hours.

Zirakpur is around 10 km from state capital Chandigarh.