Tanker explosion near Jaipur chars 10 to death

Ten people were charred to death and 12 sustained severe burns when a truck carrying a consignment of bikes hit a gas tanker carrying highly inflammable gas Butadiene near Jaipur-Delhi Highway at Beelpur village in Jaipur district. 

The gas tanker caught fire and this was followed by a massive explosion.
The intensity of the explosion was such that some of the  victims’ bodies and mangled remains of the vehicles nearby were thrown off as far as 500 metres away from the spot.

A few bodies, according to villagers, were found hanging on roadside trees.
“Ten people were burnt to death while 12 others were injured. So far, only three bodies have been identified while the rest are charred beyond recognition. Among the injured, about three to four persons are in a critical condition,” said Hanuman Singh, an officer from Chandwaji police station on NH-8.

The bodies were kept in the mortuary of the National Institute of Medical Science Hospital (NIMS) located on NH-8.

The police had to deploy extra personnel to manage the crowd flocking to the hospital searching for their missing relatives and family members.

The police said that both vehicles were moving in the same direction and the truck carrying bikes hit the gas tanker from behind. The inflammable gas started leaking and soon it caught fire which was followed by a massive explosion.

Several vehicles passing by caught fire and commuters had no way to escape from the spot. The bikes loaded in the truck were also gutted in the blaze. However, villagers claimed that death toll is much more and the police were trying to hide the actual causalities.

“The accident occurred late on Saturday night and the highway remained jammed till morning. The intensity of the explosion was such that everything in the vicinity was gutted completely,” Singh said.

According to the police, drivers of both the vehicles were missing and they could be among those injured or the dead with their bodies charred beyond recognition if they had not managed to escape from the spot.

Initial investigation revealed that the gas tanker belongs to a private company but the police could not identify it due to the damage. However, the police admitted that the gas tanker had registration numbers of Tamil Nadu.

The cause of fire is still not known but it could be possibly due to collision.
Splinters from the exploded gas tanker damaged the nearby shops and a huge temple adjacent to the highway. The standing crops of the farmers on either side of highway also suffered damage. District collector Krishan Kunal and Superintendent of Police (Rural) Nitin Deep Blagan monitored the rescue operation till morning.