Fire tenders and people near the site of the accident after a truck loaded with a chemical collided with some other vehicles and caught fire on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway, in Jaipur, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 | Photo: PTI Fire tenders and people near the site of the accident after a truck loaded with a chemical collided with some other vehicles and caught fire on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway, in Jaipur, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 | Photo: PTI At least seven people were killed, and 35 others were injured in a major fire on the Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway on Friday morning. The incident occurred after a truck carrying chemicals collided with several other vehicles.
Around 30 trucks and vehicles were engulfed in the fire. Visuals from the area showed massive flames rising from a fuel station as fire tenders struggled to extinguish the blaze.
VIDEO | Rajasthan: A gas tanker caught fire on Ajmer Road in #Jaipur earlier today. Several vehicles were also gutted in fire. More details are awaited.#JaipurNews (Full video available on PTI videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/kIJcm3AQRJ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 20, 2024More than 25 ambulances reached the site and transported victims to the hospital. Traffic was halted on a 300-metre stretch of the highway, leading to a long queue of vehicles.
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Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the SMS Hospital, where the injured were being treated. He spoke with doctors and directed officials to ensure proper treatment and other necessary arrangements.
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In a post in Hindi on X, the chief minister said, "Deeply saddened to hear the news of casualties in the gas tanker fire incident on the Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway. As soon as the information about the incident was received, I went to the SMS Hospital and directed the doctors there to provide immediate necessary medical facilities and take proper care of the injured."
Road accidents are common in India. Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shows a troubling rise in road fatalities between 2018 and 2022. The total number of road accident fatalities in 2022 reached 1,68,491, up from 1,53,972 in 2021, according to the government’s ‘Road Accidents in India, 2022’ report.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtragolden palasyo, and Tamil Nadu have recorded the highest number of road accidents over the past five years. More than 7.77 lakh fatalities were reported across the country during the 2018-2022 period, the ministry said.