At least four people, including the drivers and cleaners, were burnt alive in a fire after two trucks collided near Mahajan village in Rajasthan’s Bikaner on the Bikaner-Shriganganagar national highway on Friday morning, police said.
A truck carrying vegetables from Punjab was heading towards Bikaner and the other transporting sand was going to Sriganganagar when the accident occurred, police said. The collision resulted into sparks which caused the fire, they added.
Sources in the police said that the dead ware trapped in the mangled vehicles after the collision and before they could be rescued the fire burnt them alive.
Local residents tried to rescue them but were unable to do anything as the flames spread after it reached the drivers’ cabins of the vehicles. The inflammable materials inside the cabins further intensified the fire, sources said.
The dead are yet to be identified.
Bikaner superintendent of police Sawai Singh Godara said that the reason behind the accident is not clear.
“The accident took place at a place on the highway where there is no turn. It is not clear which vehicle violated rules and led to the accident. The accident caused a huge jam on the highway. The vehicles did not leave enough space for other vehicles to pass by the road,” Godara said.
{{/usCountry}}“The accident took place at a place on the highway where there is no turn. It is not clear which vehicle violated rules and led to the accident. The accident caused a huge jam on the highway. The vehicles did not leave enough space for other vehicles to pass by the road,” Godara said.
{{/usCountry}}Local police used cranes to remove the mangled vehicles to clear the jam on one of the busiest highways in the area after a few hours of the accident.