Image showing fire. For representational purposes.
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Bareilly (UP): A heap of plastic gas pipes stored along the Nainital highway here caught fire after sparks from an overhead power line, police said on Wednesday.
No casualties were reported in the incident that occurred around 10:30 pm on Tuesday.
They said a fault in the overhead electric line led to sparks falling on a pile of plastic PNG (piped natural gas) pipes and cables stored near the roadside.
The highly flammable material quickly caught fire, leading to a massive blaze which was visible from a long distance.
As a precautionary measure, traffic on both sides of the Nainital highway was halted, Bareilly Additional Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Akmal Khan.
Vehicular movement was suspended for nearly half an hour, resulting in a traffic snarl on the busy route, locals said.
Several fire tenders were rushed to the site and firefighting operations continued for over an hour, the ASP said.
“The fire is suspected to have been triggered by an electric spark following a power line fault. A thorough probe will be conducted by the fire department,” a fire official said.
Abhishek, an officer of the company laying the pipes, said the pipes had been stored for laying new gas lines and were worth several lakhs of rupees.
“The entire stock was gutted in the fire, causing heavy losses to the company,” he claimed.