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A deadly collision involving a CNG tanker and several vehicles turned a stretch of the Jaipur-Ajmer highway in Rajasthan into an inferno on Friday morning, killing at least eight people. The incident took place around 5:30 am outside a petrol pump.
An eyewitness, who narrowly escaped the fire, told News Agency that he was just a few meters away from the trucks that collided.
"I was on the way home in a car with two of my friends. Everything happened in front of me. There is usually a jam at this cut because trucks take a turn...When I reached the spot, I immediately stopped my car as we saw smoke coming out of a truck. We initially thought the gas was leaking. However, as soon as I tried to reverse the car, we heard an explosion," Vivek said.
He recounted that amid panic, he jumped out of his car and ran to the other side of the highway.
"After I ran away, there was an explosion in the truck, then slowly all the vehicles around started catching fire. I somehow managed to get out and run. My other two friends were injured - one of them is in a critical condition," he said.
According to the eyewitness, if he had been late by two or three seconds, he would have been injured in the fire. "The blast happened in front of us. I don't even know what happened to the other people. I started taking care of my friends," he added.
Another eyewitness, a school van driver, recounted the horrific incident, calling it a "frightening scene".
"There was panic and chaos on the highway...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 news agency PTI.
Locals reported spotting the flames from over a kilometer away.
The explosion was so intense that several vehicles within a 300-meter radius were engulfed and completely burned, reported news agency IANS. Several drivers were reportedly burned in the incident, with some in critical condition.
Officials said that a CNG tanker parked near the petrol pump caught fire after a truck collided with other vehicles. CCTV footage also shows the CNG tanker exploding and a massive black smoke rising in the sky.
Several more people are feared dead, while more than 40 people have been injured. At least 28 victims are in critical condition, officials said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the truck that hit the other vehicles was reportedly loaded with a chemical.
"The fire has engulfed several trucks. The number of trucks involved in the incident is not clear. Some people with burn injuries have been rushed to hospitals in ambulances," Station House Officer (SHO), Bhankrota, Manish Gupta said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took stock of the incident and expressed condolences over the loss of lives.
"The road accident in Jaipur, Rajasthan is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this accident. I spoke to the Chief Minister Mr Bhajanlal Sharma in this regard. The local administration is working to provide immediate treatment to the injured. I wish for the speedy recovery of the injured," he wrote on X.