E-Paper
Fuel tanker goes up in flames after crash in Ludhiana
No casualty reported as police close elevated road for traffic; blaze brought under control after two-hour fire-fighting operation
A major mishap was averted after a tanker carrying 12,000 litre fuel caught flames after crashing into a divider on the elevated road on National Highway near the bus stand in Khanna on Wednesday afternoon. In a respite, no casualty was reported from the incident.
The tanker driver Bhagwinder Singh and his assistant had a narrow escape, but suffered minor injuries in the incident. At least four commuters passing by came to their rescue. They broke open the windshield of the vehicle and helped them get to safety as the tanker went up in flames.
Bhagwinder said he lost control of the vehicle while trying to dodge a stray cattle on the road, resulting in the tanker crashing into the divider and turning over. He was headed to Mandi Gobindgarh from Jalandhar.
According to eyewitness accounts, several vehicles were crossing the elevated road at the time of the incident, but were at a safe distance from the ill-fated tanker.
Panic gripped the area as the flames spread to a 100-m stretch on the elevated road after petrol and diesel spilled over. Thick and dark smoke soon covered the sky.
Taking swift action, police closed the elevated road off for vehicular traffic.
At least five fire tenders from Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh were pressed into service and the flames were doused after at least one hour of firefighting operations.
Police teams later removed the tanker from the road and restored the traffic in the afternoon.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal and sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Baljinder Singh reached the spot. The SSP added that as per the preliminary investigation, the tanker headed towards Mandi Gobindgarh from Ludhiana side crashed into the road divider.
The SSP said kerosene and diesel spilled over the road, adding, “The driver and his helper managed to come out timely from the vehicle with the help of onlookers. Suddenly, the tanker caught flames.”
The SSP revealed that the tanker contained 6,000 litre diesel and 6,000 litre petrol.
He added that after the fire was doused, senior officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were informed, who are assessing whether any damage has been done to the bridge where this accident took place.
Except for heavy vehicles, the traffic was resumed for all kinds of light vehicles a few hours after the fire was doused. Heavy vehicles would be routed through an alternate route till the time NHAI officials submit their report on the damage sustained.
