New Delhi:
CCTV footage showed fire sweeping over a property minutes after a collision between a gas tanker and multiple vehicles turned the Jaipur-Ajmer highway into an inferno on Friday morning.
Visuals showed fire engulfing a residence, likely near the highway, leaving a trail of destruction in the property. Other visuals showed smoke filling in a street, followed by a blast and fire.
The fire caused by the collision, which has claimed eight lives so far, caused thick black smoke to fill the sky as flames remained visible from nearly a kilometre away. A nearly 300-metre-long stretch of the highway was affected by the accident, leading to a long queue of vehicles.
Ambulances and fire department vehicles rushed to the accident spot as the fire damaged at least 30 vehicles.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to ascertain details of passengers on board a bus that behind the gas tanker when the accident occurred. Damage caused by the fire to the establishments along the highway is also being determined.
#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan | 4 dead and several injured in a major accident and fire incident in the Bhankrota area.
A fire broke out due to the collision of many vehicles one after the other. Efforts are being made to douse the fire. pic.twitter.com/3WHwok5u8W
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2024
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar visited the SMS Hospital, where over 40 injured persons are undergoing treatment. Khimsar told reporters that nearly half of the injured brought to the hospital were in very critical condition. Further, a ‘green corridor’ has been set up from the accident site to the SMS hospital.