Seven people were killed and 18 injured in a fire incident in Balia on Saturday night. According to the police, a tanker carrying petrol overturned when the tanker driver tried to swerve the vehicle in a bid to save a motorcyclist near Naveen Krishi Mandi in Kasba locality under Rasra police station. As the tanker overturned huge quantity of petrol was spilled out.
A huge number of villagers assembled the scene in the avarice to collect the spilled petrol and a number of them collected it also.
later the police reached to the place and warned the villagers announcing on loud-hailer no to come to the site and not lit fire near it. But some peoples ignored the warning.
Around 11.40 pm, Ankur aka Sheru Singh of the locality lit lamp at the basement of his house causing a fire to broke at the site. As many as 18 people suffered burns in the incident out of which three died on the spot. Four other people died at hospital during treatment.
The deceased were identified as Golu (16), Sugreev Rabhar (27), Pintu (26), Ram Pravesh (40), Bijendra Rajbhar (25) and Rajendra all of Rasra and Ravi Singh (26) of Ghazipur district.