Over two dozen people were injured when a long distance bus on way to Sahebganj caught fire after an accident at Chutupalu valley on NH 33 about 30 kms from the Capital city on Monday evening. The Bus caught fire soon after the accident and the fire also engulfed a truck and two other vehicles nearby.
The accident took place at 8 PM on Monday evening when a truck rammed into the bus from behind, said police officials. Ramgarh SDPO RP Kishire said that 24 persons were injured in the accident and they were rushed to nearby hospitals. Sources said that a number of people who had sustained burn injuries were sent to Ramgarh and Ranchi for treatment.
An ambulance that stuck in the accident also caught fire and it turned into ashes. The ambulance was carrying a body, which also got burnt. Police said that the body of one Masuddin Ansari got burnt in the fire while his son and wife sustained burn injuries. At least five persons were sent to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.
The accident took place at Chutupalu valley between Ranchi and Ramgarh where a highly inflammable liquid methane gas laden tanker had already turned turtle on Monday afternoon. The tanker was not removed in time and vehicular traffic continued despite risk of gas leakage, said sources.
Meanwhile, the Ranchi-Ramgarh stretch of NH-33 has been completely made out of bound for vehicles as teams of National Disaster relief Force were at the accident site to remove the leaking tanker and douse the fire. The road was out of bound for vehicles at the time of filing of the report.
The traffic between the two cities has been diverted through Gola and Patratu,said Ramgarh SP A Vijaylakshmi.