Tanker-truck collision leaves two dead, three injured in Palghar

Two persons died and three were left injured in a five-vehicle smashup in Palghar on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway 8 on Sunday afternoon.

Two people died and three were left injured in a five-vehicle smashup in Palghar on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway 8 on Sunday afternoon.

The incident occured at Talasari in Palghar. (Vinayak Pawar/HT)

A tanker belonging to Amit Roadlines, Mumbai, carrying inflammable chemicals was rear-ended by a truck, resulting in an explosion. The blast also hit a truck travelling in front of the tanker, which lost control and collided with a parked car.

Shortly afterwards, another car -- an Innova -- rammed into the burning truck.

The deceased in the accident include two truck drivers. The three injured have been identified as Rasika Shailesh Patil, 50, Prachi Prashant Patil, 50, and Ajinkya Prashant Patil, 29. They are all residents of Dadar, said PI Keshav Naik of Talasari police station.

The injured have been shifted to a Mumbai hospital with 35% burns.

All traffic on the highway was affected by the incident, causing traffic jams up to several kilometres on both sides of the highway.

The accident took place just a few metres away from an Indian Oil Petrol pump.

“The petrol bunker could also have gone into flames. We have cordoned off traffic on both Mumbai and Ahmedabad side due to the mishap. Fire tenders from Boisar MIDC, Reliance Thermal Energy plant at Dahanu, TAPS, and fire brigade from Vapi and Umbergaon in Gujarat have arrived at the spot,” said Naik.