TANKERS CATCH FIRE IN EWAY PILEUP
Five vehicles were burnt in a blaze on the Yamuna Expressway, after a tanker carrying liquified petroleum gas exploded early Sunday morning.
AGRA:Three persons were injured and five vehicles were burnt and in a blaze on the Yamuna Expressway early on Sunday morning after a tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded while speeding behind another tanker which was already on fire, police said.
The accident involving the two tankers, a truck and two cars about 30 km from Mathura disrupted traffic on the expressway for almost five hours before it was restored at 6 am on Sunday.
Superintendent of police (rural), Mathura, Aditya Shukla said: “Three people travelling in a car sustained 30 per cent burns and were admitted to a hospital in Mathura. They later shifted to Delhi for better treatment.”
He said the exact cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained and added that the police were looking for drivers of the two tankers who fled the spot after the mishap.
In-charge of Sureer police station in Mathura Mahendra Kumar said, “The incident occurred at 1.20 am when an LPG tanker tried to overtake a truck
POLICE LOOKING FOR THE DRIVERS OF THE TWO TANKERS WHO FLED THE SPOT AFTER THE MISHAP
while coming from Noida. While overtaking, the tanker brushed against the truck that caused leakage in the capsule containing LPG which sparked the fire.”
“Another tanker which was following the one on fire also caught fire and exploded. Two four-wheelers which were on the wrong side on the same track also caught fire. In all, three people sustained injuries and five vehicles were destroyed in the explosion and fire,” Kumar said.
“Fire-tenders were pressed into action but had to struggle for dousing the fire in the tankers,” he said. Locals said a house near the accident site was also damaged and the fire spread across an area of 200 metres. Police said the blaze also spread after bales of ‘bajra’ (millet) kept along the expressway caught fire.