An oil tanker burst in the village of Itamati in Odisha’s Nayagarh on Saturday morning, killing four people and badly injuring one.
The event occurred, according to sources, when local villagers arrived at the location where the tanker slid down the Bada Pandusara bridge in Itamati.
The tanker was travelling from Paradip when the driver lost control and crashed through the bridge’s barrier about 1.45 a.m.
Locals raced to the scene after the tragedy to initiate a rescue attempt, but the oil tanker detonated while the operation was in progress, killing all four people involved in the rescue.
“At about 2 AM, two trucks carrying Diesel and Petrol were coming from Paradip to Nayagarh side when one of them hit the wall of a bridge near Bada Pandusara and fell into the river,” Superintendent of Nayagarh Police, Alekha ch Pahi told ANI.
“Meanwhile, the staff of the second tanker went to rescue the members of the first tanker, when a sudden explosion took place and four persons died, while one received severe injuries,” he added.
Pankaj Nayaj, Dipu Khatua, Sameer Nayak, and Chandan Khatua were identified as the deceased, while injured Rakesh Samantray was transferred to Bhubaneswar hospital when his condition deteriorated at the Nayagarh district headquarters hospital.
The Itamati Police Department has opened an investigation into the situation.
An investigation is now underway.
(with inputs from ANI)