IOC tanker carrying inflammable liquid benzene overturns in MP's Seoni district

Seoni: An Indian Oil Company (IOC) tanker carrying 28 tons of benzene overturned on Jabalpur-Nagpur national highway in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday evening, a police official said.

The tanker overturned while negotiating a turn along Kurai Valley, causing the highly inflammable chemical to leak and forcing police to stop the movement of vehicles on the highway for some time, he said.

Later, traffic was allowed to resume on one side of the highway in a gradual manner, said Kurai police station in-charge Kripal Singh Tekam.

IOC tanker HR 38 AC 1873 going from Haryana to Karnataka overturned on the four-lane highway (NH-44) at 4.30 pm, he said.

The driver and operator of the tanker suffered minor injuries.

Fire brigade was called to the spot from Seoni besides a team of experts from IOC, and water was being sprayed on leaked benzene, the official said.

Efforts are being made to set the tanker upright, he said.