A deadly explosion between a truck carrying chemicals with an LPG tanker near a petrol pump on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway left at least seven dead and more than 35 people injured. The explosion engulfed over 30 vehicles in flames as thick black smoke filled the sky.
As per eyewitness accounts, flames could be seen from a kilometre away while ambulances and fire brigade vehicles rushed to the crash site.
According to Sunil, he and his friend were travelling on a bus from Rajsamand to Jaipur because his friend, who got selected as a junior accountant and they were on their way to submit some documents. Around 5:30 am, they heard a massive blast when their bus had stopped. He said their fire had spread everywhere but when passengers decided to leave, they found that the door had jammed. They broke the windows and jumped out of the bus along with some 7-8 people. However, those who couldn’t manage to jump out were stuck inside. He said that there were “continuous blasts one after the other”. He also said that he saw a petrol pump nearby.
As per India Today, Sunil said that several people on the bus had received serious injuries and one person was killed.
Meanwhile, a school van driver who was on his way to pick up students recounted with horror the sight of a man engulfed in flames.
"As I got closer to the spot, I saw people running in haste and shouting for help. I saw a man engulfed in flames. It was a frightening scene. Fire brigades and ambulances were there, but it was difficult for them to reach the spot initially," he told PTI.
Speaking to ANI, Harsh Chaudhary, a local resident, recounted, "I stayed about five hundred meters from the site when this horrific collision occurred. Suddenly, there was such a powerful explosion that we couldn't even comprehend what had happened."
He added, "Initially, we thought it was an earthquake, but later we saw the fireballs. The flames were so intense that we couldn't approach for at least five hundred meters. One after another, the vehicles caught fire, with at least thirty-three vehicles engulfed in flames."
He explained that after the fire was somewhat contained, “we got a closer look and saw the bodies of ten to fifteen people.”
Another witness told ANI that a whole lane of 100 to 200 metres of the highway was burned.
The superintendent of SMS Hospital, Dr Sushil Kumar Bhati, said seven people had died, and over 60% of the victims have suffered burns injuries. Currently, he had said that six people were under ventilators. A team from the district administration is present at the hospital to help the family members of the victims.
A nearly 300-metre busy stretch of the highway was affected by the accident, leading to a long queue of vehicles. Police officials said the fire engulfed some establishments along the highway but details of the actual losses are not yet clear.