Five people were charred to death on Tuesday after their car caught fire on colliding with a tanker truck carrying diesel on the Yamuna Expressway near Uttar Pradesh's Agra, police said.

Etmadpur Deputy Superintendent of Police Archana Singh said the truck took a wrong turn while moving at a high speed, following which the car heading to Lucknow from Agra collided with it.

The occupants of the car got trapped inside it after the crash because of its central lock system, she said.

Singh said a worker of a booth on the Yamuna Expressway reported the accident to the police, and the fire brigade was called in, but by the time the fire was controlled, all five occupants of the car were badly burnt.

The officer said the truck driver fled the scene after the crash, and a search was underway to nab him.