Tanker on fire, driver speeds away from fuel pump; MP CM calls him ‘real hero’

The driver got injured, but his act saved many lives at the fuel pump.

The driver of a petrol tanker averted a major disaster after he sped away from a fuel pump following a fire in one of the chambers of the truck.

The speeding truck, with fuel spilling from its chamber, caused a trail of fire on the road for about five kilometres till it halted at a safe spot near a railway crossing. (ANI Twitter videograb)

The driver’s act saved many lives and has drawn praise from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who called him a “real hero” with police also planning to honour him, officials said.

“Yesterday (Sunday) evening, when the petrol tanker was emptying its stock at a fuel pump in Gotegaon, one of its chambers caught fire. On spotting the fire, driver Sajid sped away from the pump to save the entire facility from blowing up,” Gotegaon police station in-charge RK Soni said.

“His act saved many lives at the fuel pump. He himself got injured and is now being treated at a hospital here where doctors have said that his condition is stable,” Soni said.

MP CM Chouhan, praising Sajid, lauded his act as that of a “real hero”.