Prayagraj: The death toll in the Kaushambi oil tanker blaze at a toll plaza on June 26 has risen to five, with two more victims succumbing to their injuries late Thursday.Three people had died after an oil tanker crashed into a toll plaza in Kaushambi and caught fire. More than a dozen vehicles, including two cars, were gutted in the blaze, while around a dozen people sustained injuries.A senior police officer told TOI, “A total of five persons have died so far. They are Dharmendra Dubey (40), the tanker driver from Mirzapur; Hiramani Singh (29) of Rae Bareli; Alok Singh (27) of Rae Bareli; Krishnapal Maurya (23) of Lalitpur; and Anil Kumar (30) of Prayagraj. Treatment of Atul Kumar Mishra (30) of Rewa is still underway.”Police said Hiramani and Krishnapal succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at SRN Hospital.Dharmendra and toll plaza employee Alok died on June 26, while Anil on July 1.On Friday, a 24-second CCTV video of the accident resurfaced on social media, capturing the horrific sequence of events. The footage shows two tankers approaching the toll plaza when one of them suddenly veers out of control, mounts the divider and ploughs into the toll booths at high speed. The impact triggered a massive fire after fuel spilled from the tanker, engulfing the toll plaza and nearby vehicles in flames. Police said the tanker was travelling from Kanpur to Pratapgarh when the accident occurred.Meanwhile, Kaushambi police said on Friday that a detailed investigation into the incident is still underway. An FIR was registered against the tanker driver on June 26 under the relevant sections.
