Puttur: Gas tanker catches fire, 6 killed

Puttur, Apr 9 : A tanker carrying 16,000 litres of LPG from HPCL to Bangalore from the city overturned at Perne on national highway 75 near Uppinangady in the taluk. The tragedy occurred at around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning after the tanker driver lost control over his vehicle while negotiating a curve at Perna area. As soon as the tanker overturned, the filling valve burst open spraying the liquefied high pressure gas in a 100 mts radius and it caught fire. Four houses and a garage in the vicinity were engulfed in the flames. Eyewitnesses said those inmates inside the house who could not react quickly to the incident were burnt alive. The tanker driver and cleaner were among those dead. A person, who came running out of a house, with his body in flames has been taken to a hospital in Mangalore and the condition is said to be serious. The exact number of casualties is not yet known but six are confirmed to have died. The condition of some people, who were in the vicinity and managed to run way from the area suffering burn injuries, is not known. Four vehicles were also damaged in the incident. The identity of the deceased was not known, police said. Several fire tenders and water tankers were deployed from nearby fire stations to extinguish the flames. The fire has been brought under control at 1 pm.   Source: MangaloreInformation