Pune (Maharashtra), Dec 23: In a horrific incident, two toddlers and a man were crushed to death when a speeding dumper mowed nine pavement dwellers here on Monday.

The police said the incident happened around 1 a.m. at Wagholi near the Kesnand Phata when a dumper of a private company from Pune veered onto the footpath and ran over the people, all labourers sleeping in shanties there.

At least three persons, including two minors and another man, were killed instantly while six others were seriously injured in the mishap.

According to preliminary information, the dumper driver was allegedly in an inebriated state and lost control of the heavy vehicle, said to be owned by Buildwell Enterprises, while going from Pune to Wagholi.

The victims are identified as: One-year-old Vaibhavi Ritesh Pawar, her two-year-old brother Vaibhav Ritest Pawar, and a man named Rinesh N. Pawar, 30. They were all sleeping beside each other when the tragedy hit them.

The condition of the six others injured has been described as critical. They have been admitted to the Sassoon Hospital.

According to locals, around a dozen workers had arrived here from Amravati on Sunday to work as labourers in different construction sites in the region.

Local police and officials have launched a probe into the exact causes of the disaster as initial reports suggest that the driver was purportedly in a drunken state, said locals who rushed there to help the victims.

The accident site was an eerie scene with bodies of the victims and injured, blood splattered all around, and the bare belongings, clothes or utensils of the labourers strewn in the vicinity, resembling a war zone.

Later, the police arranged to move the dumper, completed the relevant formalities and cleared the footpath, said the locals, as people vented their angst on social media.

Jaipur, Dec 21: The toll in the horrific accident and fire in Jaipur rose to 14 by Saturday as more people succumbed to their burn injuries.

The tragic accident on Friday morning at the Ajmer Highway in Jaipur claimed the lives of eight people immediately and left over 35 injured, when an LPG gas tanker collided with a truck. The death toll continued to rise through the day after that.

The collision triggered a massive explosion and fire, engulfing the area in flames, leaving over 35 people injured.

The toll is expected to go up further due to the horrific nature of the burns.

The accident took place when the LPG tanker, traveling from Ajmer toward Jaipur, was making a U-turn back toward Ajmer and collided with a truck coming from Jaipur.

The impact caused the gas to leak, spreading over a 200-metre radius before igniting into a massive fireball.

The explosion led to catastrophic destruction, with more than 40 vehicles catching fire after that.

Many victims were unable to escape, including the workers at a pipe factory nearby.

A sleeper bus carrying 34 passengers also caught fire and out of the 34 passengers, 20 suffered severe burns, while 14 others, including the driver and conductor, remain missing.

The fire caused by the explosion produced towering flames that burned numerous birds in the vicinity.

Several vehicles on the highway, including the bus and a truck, were engulfed in the blaze. The intense heat caused a bike rider’s helmet to melt and stick to his face, severely burning his eyes.

Eight people were burned alive, and 35 others sustained burns.

Even hours after the incident, people in the area reported experiencing suffocation and irritation in their eyes due to the lingering effects of the fire.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the horrific accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

Jaipur: A massive fire accident took place on the Jaipur—Ajmer Highway when a tanker filled with LPG gas exploded on Friday morning as a truck hit the gas tanker. The explosion reached a sleeper bus coming from Udaipur to Jaipur and claimed eight lives, while 35 people suffered burn injuries. The number of deaths is likely to increase as some of the injured are reported to be critical. 

As per the officials, the tanker-filled LPG was coming from Ajmer to Jaipur. At around 5.44 in the morning, while taking a U-turn, a truck coming from Jaipur collided with the tanker and within no time, the entire area became a ball of fire. The fire engulfed over 30 vehicles and thick black smoke filled the sky.

The sleeper bus running behind the tanker had 34 passengers on board and as per information 20 of them suffered burn injuries. The bus left Udaipur at 9 pm on Thursday night. At that time, there were 35 passengers in the bus. A passenger had deboarded at Ajmer. The bus was to reach Jaipur at around 6.30 am, but met with the accident at 5.45 am. 

There is a crude oil pipeline and two petrol pumps near the accident site, but all are safe. 

Dr. Sushil Bhati, Superintendent of SMS Hospital of Jaipur said that there 42 persons have been admitted in hospital while eight have been died. Out of these 4 were brought dead.  Among the admitted patients, there are 10 to 12 patients who have suffered more than 60% burns. 6 patients are currently on ventilator.

How Did The Accident Happen?

The tanker filled with LPG was coming from Ajmer to Jaipur. The tanker was taking a U-turn in front of DPS school in Bhankrota. The truck coming from Jaipur hit the nozzle of the gas tanker. About 18 tons of gas spread into the air from the nozzle, and an area of ​​200 meters became a gas chamber. A few seconds later, there was a massive explosion in the tanker and fire spread to the nearby vehicles.

The gas spreading rapidly in the air made the accident horrifying. People living nearby told many people were trying to take off their burning clothes. Mohan Lal, a family member of one of the injured,  said that many people became unconscious due to the gas. The fire was so severe that we turned away. What happened on the spot was not known. Hundreds of birds are lying burnt within a radius of about 400 meters from the accident site. 

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma tweets, “I am deeply saddened to hear the sad news of casualties of citizens in the gas tanker fire incident on Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway. As soon as the information about the incident was received, I went to SMS Hospital and directed the doctors to provide immediate necessary medical facilities and take proper care of the injured.  Rescue work by the administration is continuing. The local administration and emergency services are working with full readiness. I pray to God to grant the departed souls a place in his supreme abode, give the bereaved families strength to bear this immense loss and provide speedy recovery to the injured.”