4 killed, 18 injured as oil tanker catches fire in Mizoram
The oil tanker met with an accident and turned turtle on the highway at around 4.30pm on Saturday. It caught fire around 6pm when locals were drawing petrol oozing out from the tanker
At least 4 people were killed and 18 others injured after an oil tanker carrying petrol caught fire at Tuirial area near Aizawl in Mizoram on Saturday, a senior police officer said Sunday.
Five of the 18 injured are critical, said deputy Inspector of police (headquarters), Lalbiakthanga Khiangte.
The incident occurred near Tuirial airfield, about 18 km east of Aizawl, when the oil tanker carrying about 22,000 litre petrol was heading towards Champhai in the northeastern part of the state, he said.
The oil tanker, which met with an accident and turned turtle on the highway at around 4.30pm, caught fire around 6pm when locals were drawing petrol oozing out from the tanker, he said.
Four people, including a woman and a 74-year-old man, were charred to death on the spot, while 18 got burn injuries.
Majority of the injured were admitted at three hospitals in Aizawl and a primary health centre at nearby Thingsul village in Saitual district, Khiangte said.
He said that two of the deceased hailed from Tuirial village and one each from Lamherh in Aizawl district and Thingsulthliah village in Saitual district.
People familiar with the matter said that a taxi and three motorcycles (two-wheeler) were also completely burnt in the fire.
Chief minister Zoramthanga and other ministers and MLAs, including sports minister Rober Romawia Royte, visited the spot on Saturday night after the incident.
The chief minister condoled the bereaved families and laid wreaths on the coffins of the victims, an official in the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.
