Jaipur oil tanker accident: The death toll in the LPG tanker accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway rose to 11 on Friday. The accident occurred after an LPG tanker collided with a truck, sparking a blaze that turned a stretch of the Jaipur-Ajmer highway into a sea of flames with 37 vehicles ablaze. According to an official, 28 people have been hospitalized, many of them in critical condition.
“A total of 11 people died. Five of them were admitted to SMS Hospital and five of them died during treatment,” Press Trust of India news agency quoted Dr Deepak Maheshwari, principal of SMS Medical College, as saying. Jaipur The hospital reported that one person died. He also said that 27 people were admitted to SMS Hospital and one of them was undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The highway was reopened overnight after all vehicles were removed.
Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph, who was at the scene of the accident, said that an outlet nozzle of the LPG tanker was damaged in the collision, causing gas to leak and trigger the fire.
According to authorities, the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. in front of a school while it was still dark. “The vehicle behind the tanker was engulfed in flames. Other vehicles coming from the opposite direction also caught fire and the two vehicles collided,” PTI quoted Joseph as saying.
The fire spread instantly when the gas leaked, leaving people in nearby vehicles with no room to escape. People were seen rushing over and taking off their clothes as they were engulfed in flames. More than 25 ambulances took the injured to SMS Hospital in Jaipur.
Dr Maheshwawri said as many as 43 people were admitted to hospital, seven of whom required ventilator support. Some of the slightly injured people left the hospital after being bandaged. Officials at the scene said the number of casualties could rise. The Rajasthan government announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the injured.
(With PTI input)