Driver, Helper Charred To Death As Oil Tanker Hits Trailer, Catches Fire In Balodabazar

Driver and helper of the 20,000-litre tanker got trapped in the cabin and their charred bodies were recovered by the police later.

Balodabazar:Driver and helper of an oil tanker were charred to death after the vehicle rammed into a trailer parked on the roadside and burst into flames in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district, police said on Sunday.

The mishap occurred at Gonda culvert turn in Palari police station area of ​​Balodabazar on Saturday night when the tanker, heading towards Janjgir Champa from Mandir Hasaud depot, crashed into the trailer, parked at the Gonda culvert turn. A massive fire broke out and the tanker's driver and helper were burnt to death. The tanker was carrying around 20,000 litres of fuel and a loss of around Rs 50 lakh is being estimated, officials said.

"A trailer had come from Raipur and a fuel tanker collided with it, resulting in fire. The flames were extinguished by fire tenders. Two people died on the spot," Nidhi Nag, SDOP, Balodabazar said.

As per reports, the fire spread to the tanker's cabin and both the driver and helper got trapped inside it. The deceased, identified as Chhedi Patel, driver and Kanha Vaishno, helper, could not escape from the cabin and were killed.

On information, local police and fire brigade teams reached the spot. However, the fire was so fierce that it took about three hours to extinguish it. After which, the two charred bodies were recovered from the cabin of the tanker.

The district administration is assessing the total losses. Preliminary estimates have revealed that a loss of Rs 50 lakh was incurred in the incident, officials said.

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