Jaipur, October 8: A massive fire broke out on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway late Tuesday night after a chemical-laden tanker rammed into a parked truck carrying LPG cylinders, setting off a series of explosions that sent shockwaves through the area. Over 40 cylinders exploded one after another, officials said on Wednesday.
Jaipur Collector Dr. Jitendra Soni said that while 42 cylinders were destroyed in the blaze, 120 remaining ones were safely removed by a Hindustan Petroleum (HP) response team following strict safety protocols. “Scrap of 42 exploded cylinders was found around the area. All 120 intact cylinders were secured and the site was sanitised as per safety measures,” he told PTI.
The tanker’s driver was burnt alive in the inferno, and another person sustained injuries, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Deepak Khandelwal of Dudu. “The tanker driver was burnt alive in the incident. Another man was injured,” he said.
The parked truck carrying LPG cylinders was stationed outside a roadside hotel when the speeding tanker hit it. Officials said the truck driver had stepped out for a meal moments before the crash. The impact caused the tanker’s cabin to catch fire, igniting the cylinders that spilled onto the road.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing deafening explosions and seeing flames rising high into the night sky. “The blasts were visible and audible from several kilometres away,” one witness said. Pieces of the exploded cylinders were found scattered across the highway.
The accident triggered panic in the surrounding area, with police teams from multiple stations rushing to the spot. Traffic on the busy highway was halted immediately as firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa visited the site late at night to take stock of the situation.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the collision. Eyewitnesses alleged that a Regional Transport Office (RTO) squad was conducting vehicle checks on the highway, and to avoid them, the tanker driver suddenly changed lanes and lost control, leading to the fatal crash.
The incident comes less than a year after a similar tragedy on the same stretch of the Jaipur-Ajmer highway. In December last year, an LPG tanker collided with a truck near Bhankrota, triggering a massive fireball that killed 19 people and turned a section of the highway into an inferno.
