Seven members of a family from Dehradun were found dead inside a car parked in Haryana's Panchkula, police on Tuesday told news agency PTI.

The car was parked at a residential area in Panchkula's Sector 27 and the incident came to light late on Monday.

When the police arrived, they found inside the car a dead couple in their 40s, three children and two elderly people.

'Only five minutes left'

A usual late-night walk took a horrifying turn for a local resident when he noticed a car with an Uttarakhand number plate parked unusually behind his own vehicle. What caught his attention was a towel hanging outside and a man sitting silently on the pavement nearby.

The local asked the man to move his car, but on careful observation, he was shocked to see six lifeless bodies lying flat inside the car, accompanied by a strong, foul odour. The victims had vomited on each other.

The man then explained that his family died in a suicide pact and that he has “only five minutes left.” Doctors declared all seven dead on arrival at the hospital.

The deceased have been identified as 42-year-old Praveen Mittal, along with his wife, three young children (two daughters and a son), and his elderly parents.

"At the moment, we are investigating the case from all angles. We are questioning the people in the area and going through the CCTV footage," DCP (Crime), Panchkula, Haryana, Amit Dahiya said.

According to media reports, the family had been reeling under heavy debt. The Dehradun residents were returning from Bageshwar Dham on Monday night, when they consumed poison and died by suicide.A suicide note has been recovered from the scene, the contents of which have not yet been made public.