Bokaro, A tanker laden with ethanol gas turned sideways and caught fire near Gawai Bridge in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district on Thursday, causing traffic disruption on the Chas-Purulia stretch of NH-32, an official said.
Bokaro Superintendent of Police , Nathu Singh Meena, said that the gas tanker laden with ethanol got turned sideways in the middle of the NH-32 and caught fire.
“Fortunately, the driver of the vehicle managed to escape from the vehicle in the nick of time and was saved from fire. However, he has sustained injuries and is under treatment,” the SP said.
The police officer further said that the traffic on this stretch has been closed for safety reasons.
Police sources said that the driver, who is under treatment, will be interrogated for the reason behind the vehicle turning sideways.
“We will question the driver after his condition is stable. Currently, he is under treatment. Prima facie, he does not appear to be in an inebriated condition,” said Ravi Kumar, the officer-in-charge of Pindrajora police station.
Huge flames and smoke engulfed the entire stretch, causing an atmosphere of panic in the nearby villages.
Upon receiving information about the incident, the local police and the fire department rushed to the scene. As a safety measure, vehicular traffic was halted in both directions on NH-32, resulting in long queues of vehicles on the road.
“As a precautionary step to prevent any major catastrophe, we have stopped people and vehicles approximately half a kilometre ahead of the Gawai Bridge. The primary fear among local residents remains the possibility that, had the gas tanker exploded, the Gawai Bridge-along with numerous nearby houses-could have been engulfed in the blast,” the police officer added.
However, according to preliminary information, a significant amount of gas leaked out of the tanker following the fire, thereby reducing the likelihood of a major explosion.
Currently, fire department personnel are working to bring the blaze under control. The administration has appealed to the public to stay away from the accident site. There are no reports of any casualties in the incident so far. At the time of writing this report, the fire in the gas tanker remains active.
“Five fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the fire. We will take stock of the situation before deciding to restore normal traffic movement on the NH-32. We do not want to take any risk at the moment,” said the police officer.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
