Loaded Petrol-Diesel tanker catches fire on Korba-Ambikapur Highway, no casualties reported

There was widespread panic in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district after a petrol and diesel tanker, loaded with fuel, came to a blaze on the Katghora-Ambikapur National Highway-130 on Thursday. Firefighters and police teams went immediately to the scene and succeeded in putting out the fire.

Initially it was believed that the tanker was transporting fuel from Korba to Wardfa Nagar. It was believed to be carrying about 2,000 litres of petrol and 8,000 litres of fuel oil.

This occurred in the vicinity of Gursiya on NH130. The tanker driver had his stop along the highway for food. The driver and conductor soon returned and tried to start the car the fire was in the tanker soon caught fire causing panic in the area.

The driver and conductor immediately got out of the tanker and managed to escape safely.

Personalnel from Bango Police Station and the traffic police arrived at location and joined a team of firemen to get information from the incident. Firefighters put out the blaze in a bid to stop it from spreading.

As fuel was spilling into the environment, the nearby residential areas were evacuated for a while, as it was thought that it may explode and hurt the surrounding residents.

The accident also resulted in heavy traffic jams both on both sides of the freeway, as emergency crews worked on the crash scene.

The fire has now been brought under control. Thankfully, there was no one injured. Following the fire, authorities will try to determine what caused it and the resulting damage.