Karwar, Sep 1: A woman was killed and 16 people were injured after a BPCL tanker transporting liquified petroleum gas (LPG) fell into a ditch and gas leaked from it, leading to a major fire, at Bargi village in the taluk on Tuesday. The incident occurred on national highway-17.
The deceased is Nagaveni Jetti Patagar, 84. She died of severe burns on the way to the hospital. The woman had come to her daughter’s house in Bargi. Her body will be taken to Haveri for cremation, her son said. Nagaveni’s daughter Jayashri, son-in-law and two sons also suffered grievous injuries.
Of the injured, the condition of eight is said to be serious. Five of the injured belong to a single family and four others to another single family. Gas leaked out of the tanker - on its way from Mangaluru to Solapur in Maharashtra - as soon as it fell into the 10-foot ditch at around 5.50 am. The gas then spread in an area of 400 sq metres.
When the gas stove in one of the houses was lit, there was a huge fire which spread to houses in the area, injuring several residents critically. Bhatkal Assistant Commissioner Chidanand Vitari told media persons that 14 of the 16 injured have been admitted to the burns ward of the Kasturba Medical College hospital in Manipal.
Around 12 houses have been badly damaged in the incident. Police have cordoned off the area and sent people to safer places. Paddy crops and trees in a radius of 300 metres of the accident spot were completely burnt.
Vehicular traffic was stopped on the highway between 7 am and 3 pm, as there was a possibility of the tanker exploding. This led to a piling up of vehicles on the busy road. Train traffic was also stopped on the nearby Konkan Railway stretch as a precautionary measure.
K?G?Devaraj, the additional superintendent of police, said that the fire had been brought under control. Steps had been taken to shift the burnt tanker from the spot, he said.
Kumta Assistant Commissioner Shobha that the area had many houses, but people in only seven to eight houses had been injured.
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