Kolkata, 23 October (H.S.) :

A catastrophic fire broke out late Thursday night when a tanker loaded with highly flammable plastic chemicals lost control and overturned on the National Highway in West Bengal's Jhargram district. The raging flames quickly engulfed other vehicles parked along the roadside, triggering widespread panic and chaos across the area.

The alarming incident took place near Chiyapada in the Chichira area on the Kharagpur-Chichira National Highway 49. According to police and local sources, the heavily loaded tanker was traveling from neighboring Jharkhand. After crossing the Chichira checkpost situated at the Bengal-Jharkhand border, the vehicle was heading towards Lodhashuli when the driver suddenly lost control near Chiyapada. The massive vehicle overturned on the highway, and the spilled plastic chemicals instantly ignited into a terrifying inferno.

The fire spread with such intense ferocity that it caught two other adjacent vehicles, completely destroying them. The chemical nature of the blaze made the situation extremely hazardous, forcing an immediate and complete halt to vehicular movement on both lanes of the critical national highway. Upon receiving emergency alerts, a large contingent of police personnel from the Jamboni police station, accompanied by multiple fire tenders from the Jhargram Fire Department, rushed to the scene to launch intensive firefighting and rescue operations.

Following several hours of rigorous and coordinated efforts by the firefighters, the raging blaze was finally brought under control. Police officials confirmed that both the driver and the helper of the ill-fated tanker fled the spot immediately after the crash, and an active search is currently underway to apprehend them. Fortunately, despite the severity of the accident and the ensuing chemical fire, no casualties or serious injuries were reported. Traffic operations and vehicular movement on the National Highway have since been fully restored to normalcy.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh