In a tragic incident, a couple was charred to death when the car in which they were travelling caught fire near the District Government hospital here on Thursday, police said.

Police said six persons were travelling in the car and four of them including a child who were sitting in the rear seat escaped when the vehicle caught fire.

The co-passengers of the victims have been shifted to a hospital, police added.

"They are not injured. They are in the hospital and they are getting checked", Kannur city police Commissioner Ajit Kumar told reporters after visiting the accident site.

He said it appears that the victims got trapped inside the burning car as they could not open its front door.

The incident occurred when the victims aged 35 and 26 and others, hailing from Kuttyattoor in the district, were going to the district hospital for a check-up, eye witnesses said.

According to locals, the woman who died was pregnant and they tried to rescue the victim-couple by opening the front door of the car but failed.

TV footage showed the locals present at the spot running towards the burning car to rescue the hapless couple who got stuck inside it.

Some of them were seen trying to open the door to rescue the man and the woman.

"We were totally helpless at that time as the front side of the car was immediately engulfed in fire. We could not do much to save them as we feared that the oil tank of the car will explode in any time," an eyewitness told the media.

Police refused to say anything about the physical condition of the victim woman.

"We will be able to say that only after the medical examination by the doctor," a police officer said when asked whether she was pregnant.

Police said the reasons for the fire could be ascertained only after verification by technical experts.

"The car will be properly checked with the help of all the scientific as well as automobile experts. Let us investigate a little more and then we will be able to get more information," police said.

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