Washington: Five Indian software professionals, all from Hyderabad, were killed when their out-of-control Chevrolet Camaro hit a tractor-trailer and burst into flames in a fiery crash on a highway near Oklahoma city on Friday, police said.

The accident took place as the driver of the car, travelling south on the Interstate 235, lost control as it tried to merge onto the ramp toward southbound I-35, the Highway Patrol said. The Camaro flew off the road and onto the southbound ramp from I-40 to I-35. It slammed into the back of a semi-truck and went under the trailer.

The top of the car was sheared off. The car then spun off the road and burst into flames. All five people inside the Camaro were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The driver of the semi was not hurt.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol shut down traffic in the area for several hours while they investigated the fatal crash.

The names of the people killed were not released, but the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) citing a friend of those killed identified the five as Jaswanth Reddy Subbayyagari, Phanindra Gade, Anurag Anthati, Srinivas Ravi and Venkat.

TANA president Prasad Thotakura said the organisation was working with police and the local community to inform the families of the deceased and making necessary arrangements to send the bodies to India.