DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 1 (MExN): A Nagaland registered oil tanker burst into flames at the ever busy NH 29, between Lahorijan and Khatkhati, Tuesday afternoon, blocking traffic for well over three hours. Nobody was injured, however.
The tanker (NL 01 A 6004), filled with 12, 000 litres of heavy duty diesel, was said to have been bound for Sibsagar in upper Assam from Dimapur. According to Khatkhati police, the tanker overturned while negotiating a blind curve a few hundred metres before reaching the CRPF camp at Khatkhati. The oil spilled out, while the friction generated when the tanker’s body hit the tarred road is believed to have ignited the diesel. The oil was carried in three compartments. The pressurized compartment at the back was seen ruptured at the welded seams of the steel container.
Neither the driver nor the helper was in sight to give a statement. They had, most probably, managed to abandon the tanker before it burst into flames and absconded, police said. Their whereabouts or their condition was yet to be established; even as tow trucks assisted by fire personnel from Dimapur as well as Bokajan cleared the highway for resumption of traffic.
Fire personnel from Dimapur said that they responded taking into consideration the gravity of the accident, despite not receiving any call for help from the Assam side. By the time emergency services from Bokajan arrived, the fire was already brought under control.
Even as the charred tanker was being towed away, smoke was seen emanating from the bushes below the highway from fire caused by the oil which had spilled from the tanker. It was however, kept under control by the firemen.
The tanker (NL 01 A 6004), filled with 12, 000 litres of heavy duty diesel, was said to have been bound for Sibsagar in upper Assam from Dimapur. According to Khatkhati police, the tanker overturned while negotiating a blind curve a few hundred metres before reaching the CRPF camp at Khatkhati. The oil spilled out, while the friction generated when the tanker’s body hit the tarred road is believed to have ignited the diesel. The oil was carried in three compartments. The pressurized compartment at the back was seen ruptured at the welded seams of the steel container.
Neither the driver nor the helper was in sight to give a statement. They had, most probably, managed to abandon the tanker before it burst into flames and absconded, police said. Their whereabouts or their condition was yet to be established; even as tow trucks assisted by fire personnel from Dimapur as well as Bokajan cleared the highway for resumption of traffic.
Fire personnel from Dimapur said that they responded taking into consideration the gravity of the accident, despite not receiving any call for help from the Assam side. By the time emergency services from Bokajan arrived, the fire was already brought under control.
Even as the charred tanker was being towed away, smoke was seen emanating from the bushes below the highway from fire caused by the oil which had spilled from the tanker. It was however, kept under control by the firemen.
