The death toll in the LPG tanker-truck accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway reached 11 on Friday, with the state government saying nearly half of the injured people were “very critical”. The crash resulted in a huge fire that engulfed 37 vehicles and nearby buildings.
“A total of 11 people have died. Five were brought dead to SMS hospital. Five succumbed during treatment. One death was reported from Jaipuria hospital,” Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal, SMS Medical College, said.
Jaipur police commissioner Biju George Joseph told the media that the fire started after the outlet nozzle of the LPG tanker was damaged in the collision, which led to the gas leak.
The accident took place at 5.30 am in front of a school. The sudden spread of fire engulfed vehicles behind the tanker and the oncoming traffic.
“Vehicles behind the tanker were engulfed in flames. Other vehicles coming from the opposite directions also caught fire and the vehicles collided,” Joseph added.
Forty-three people were brought to the hospital, seven of whom were on ventilator support, Dr Maheshwawri said.
Rajasthan’s health minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar said that nearly half of the injured were “very critical”, reported PTI.
What eyewitnesses said
Eyewitnesses narrated horrendous stories of the accident. Passengers of a bus, which caught fire in the massive blaze, said they saw several people getting charred in the blaze.
“My friend and I were travelling from Rajsamand to Jaipur. Our bus suddenly stopped around 5.30 in the morning, and we heard a massive blast. There was fire everywhere around the bus. The door of the bus was locked, so we broke the window and jumped out. Along with us, around seven to eight more people jumped from the window. There were continuous blasts one after the other. There was a petrol pump nearby,” an eyewitness told ANI.
The school van driver told PTI that the flames were visible from a kilometre away and there was panic and chaos on the highway.
“As I got closer to the spot, I saw people running in haste and shouting for help. I saw a man engulfed in flames. It was a frightening scene. Fire brigades and ambulances were there but it was difficult for them to reach the spot initially,” he said.
Another eyewitness said several people who couldn’t come out of the vehicle sustained burn injuries.
“When we woke up at 5.30 in the morning, we heard a blast. Those who were able to jump out of the bus survived, while those who couldn’t were burned there. A whole lane of 100-200 metres was burned,” another eyewitness told ANI.
The Rajasthan government announced assistance of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹1 lakh for the injured.