LPG Tanker Crash: 11 Dead, Over 35 Injured In The Inferno

Jaipur: An LPG tanker collided with a truck on Friday, sparking a massive fireball that turned a stretch of the Jaipur-Ajmer highway into an inferno in which at least 11 people were killed and nearly 40 vehicles engulfed in flames.

Of the about 35 people injured, nearly half are "very critical", Rajasthan Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar said. Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph, who was at the crash site with several officers of his department, said an outlet nozzle of the LPG tanker was damaged in the collision, leading to a gas leak that caused the blaze. The crash occurred around 5.45 am, when it was still dark, in front of a school, according to officials. "Vehicles behind the tanker were engulfed in flames. Other vehicles coming from the opposite directions also caught fire and the vehicles collided," he said.

The gas leak also spread the fire in a flash, leaving no scope for those in nearby vehicles to come out. People were seen rushing and taking off clothes engulfed in flames. The injured were rushed to the SMS hospital in Jaipur in more than 25 ambulances.

Dr Deepak Maheshwari, principal of the SMS Medical College, said eight people have died. He said 43 people were brought to the hospital. Five of them were pronounced dead and three succumbed to injuries during treatment, he said, adding that seven people are on ventilator support.