Chemical tanker catches fire on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 4 dead
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Pune: At least four people were killed and three others injured in a fire outbreak, following a chemical tanker accident on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Tuesday at around 12 pm, according to the officials.
The tragedy took place on a bridge in the Khandala ghat sections near Lonavala and resulted in massive traffic snarls on the Mumbai-bound arm of the expressway.
Hundreds of litres of unidentified chemicals seeped onto the road, causing a risk of vehicles skidding and leading to more tragedies.
The tanker could be seen burning from afar with the flames reaching at least 15-16 metres in the air.
Some of the burning chemicals fell on the road under the bridge near Kunegaon village and halted the traffic below, and one speeding two-wheeler was reported to have skidded on the chemicals with a man and a minor boy getting seriously injured.
Local witnesses said that at least four persons perished in the tragedy, and three more were hurt further official details were awaited as efforts to douse the blaze got underway and a crane was deployed to shift the tanker a safe distance away from the highway lanes.
The tanker blaze, the cause of which is not yet clear, led to a 7-8 km long traffic jam, hampering the movement of the fire brigade and other rescue vehicles.
Highway authorities have diverted the oncoming traffic via the Lonavala bypass towards Mumbai, though traffic towards Pune was allowed to proceed slowly.
With inputs from IANS