Jaipur LPG tanker fire: Death toll rises to 17, three critical

Jaipur LPG tanker fire: Sixteen people with severe burn injuries are undergoing treatment at the Jaipur hospital.

The death toll in the Jaipur tanker-truck collision reached 17 on Wednesday as a man and a woman succumbed to their injuries in the city's SMS hospital. The accident between the truck and the LPG cylinder triggered an explosion, and a subsequent fire engulfed over three dozen vehicles plying on the Delhi-Ajmer highway.

Jaipur: An LPG tanker collided with a truck on December 20. (PTI file photo)

Sixteen people with severe burn injuries are undergoing treatment at the Jaipur hospital. SMS hospital superintendent Sushil Bhati said on Wednesday that a man and a woman died in the wee hours. "With two more deaths, a total of 17 persons have died so far," he added.

Three patients with severe burn injuries are critical, Bhati added.

The LPG tanker collided with a truck on December 20, sparking a massive fireball that turned a stretch of the Jaipur-Ajmer highway into an inferno. Eleven persons had died on the day of the incident. Around 37 vehicles were gutted in the fire.

The fire was ignited as the nozzle of the LPG tanker got damaged in the crash. The driver of the LPG tanker escaped unscathed as jumped out of the truck and ran towards the opposite side.

According to the police, Jaiveer called Delhi-based tanker owner Anil Panwar after the incident.

"We cannot blame the tanker driver immediately as the container truck driver had hit his vehicle. He saw that the tanker's nozzles had broken and realised that there could be an explosion as other drivers were turning on the ignition of their vehicles. So, he fled to save his life," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Amit Kumar on Tuesday.

The DCP said Jaiveer was among the nine drivers present at the accident scene who managed to escape.

With inputs from PTI