‘Could be heard for miles’ – eyewitnesses recount ordeal after LPG tanker explosion on Jaipur highway
The explosion occurred after the truck they were travelling in collided with an LPG tanker while it was taking a U-turn on the highway. According to officials, 14 people died and 40 vehicles were scorched in the accident.
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According to officials, 30 people were wounded in the incident, six of whom are on ventilator support. It took the fire department over seven hours to get the fire completely under control.
At 5:45 am – 15 minutes after he dropped his nephew Harlal and another relative, Raju, at the Jaipur-Ajmer highway to board a truck to take them back home – Mohanlal (47) got a distressing call: there had been an explosion and that Harlal was nowhere to be found.
The explosion occurred after the truck they were travelling in collided with an LPG tanker while it was taking a U-turn on the highway. According to officials, 14 people died and 40 vehicles were scorched in the accident.
Within seconds, Mohanlal turned around his bike and shot straight to the spot. “It took me a good 15 minutes to find Haralal,” he told The Indian Express at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, where both his nephew and Raju are currently being treated.
According to officials, 28 people were wounded in the incident, four of whom are on ventilator support. It took the fire department over seven hours to get the fire completely under control.
The tanker carrying chemicals caught fire after collision with truck in front of Delhi Public School on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)
Among the wounded are 20 passengers of a sleeper bus that was caught in the explosion.
“It was dark when it happened and it was difficult to see what was happening. But later we came to know an LPG tanker had collided with a truck,” said Manish Gupta, the Station House Officer of Bhankrota Police Station. “There were so many vehicles that by the time we brought one under control, the others had already caught on fire. All damaged vehicles have been cleared from the road but it hasn’t been opened to traffic. The route will be opened by 10 pm.”
Eyewitnesses told The Indian Express that the explosion could be heard for miles.
“Around 42 people were admitted to the hospital in the morning. Of these, 12 died. Some people were admitted to the hospital but they were eventually discharged since their injuries were not grievous,” SMS Hospital Medical Superintendent Sushil Bhati said.
Of those deceased, four were brought dead but were so badly burnt that they could not be identified, officials said. Most of the vehicles involved in the accident belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
People gather near the site of the accident, in Jaipur on Friday morning. (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra visited the wounded at the two hospitals. In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
People gather near the site of the accident, in Jaipur on Friday morning. (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)
“Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the accident on Jaipur-Ajmer highway in Rajasthan. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected,” the post said.
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