Three persons were charred to death after a diesel tanker and a gas tanker caught fire following a head-on collision near Umaria village on Raipur-Arang national highway on Friday night. The fire tenders fought for over two hours to douse the fire, Station House Officer of Mandir Hasoud, Kamta Prasad Bajare, informed.
According to police, the drivers of both the tankers and a helper lost their lives in the mishap. The bodies had burned completely, the SHO told The Pioneer over phone. The deceased were identified as Mata Prasad Dubey, Mahendra Kumar, both hailing from Bhilai, and Shiv lal Tandi, native of Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, the SHO informed.
“A tanker (CG-06 B-1703) on contract with the Bharat Petroleum Company had started from Bhilai and was on way to Rasni (Arang). The speedily driven truck on Raipur-Arang highway had reached about seven km from Mandir Hasoud when a gas tanker (HR-55 6657) coming from the other side collided head-on with the diesel tanker around 11.45 pm. After the collision the diesel tanker caught fire,” the SHO said, adding, Mata Dubey and Mahendar Kumar were in the diesel tanker. The bodies trapped in the vehicles were retrieved after cutting open the mangled parts, the SHO maintained. A case in this connection was registered with Mandir Hasoud police station.