At least 4 personas died and 39 have had to be transferred to hospitals this Friday after the gas tank of a tanker caught fire after a car and truck crash in northern India, and The fire spread to dozens of vehicles.
“Around 40 vehicles caught fire. Firefighters and ambulances have reached the spot and rescue work is underway,” Jaipur district magistrate Jitendra Soni told the media.
The multiple collision, the explosion of the tanker truck and the subsequent fire occurred near a gas stationwhich may have contributed to the spread of the flames, according to local television channel NDTV.
The fire is no longer active, according to the Jaipur magistrate, but the causes of the incident are being investigated. “It is a tragic incident and we are deeply shocked by the death of these people,” the deputy prime minister of the state of Rajasthan – where the fire occurred -, Prem Chand Bairwa, told the media.
The deputy prime minister assured that The death toll could rise in the coming hours.
Traffic accidents in India are frequent due to the poor condition of the roads, the precarious conditions of some vehicles and the general lack of respect for traffic rules. In July 2023, 25 people died after a bus caught fire in western India. The vehicle had lost control after one of its tires punctured. On December 10, 6 people died and 49 others were injured in a multiple collision involving a city bus and several vehicles in Mumbai.
The Government of India reported more than 480,000 road accidents during 2023, the latest data available. These incidents claimed more than 173,000 lives and injured more than 463,000 people.
