Oil Tanker Plunges Into River, Explodes In Odisha’s Nayagarh: 4 Charred To Death, 1 Injured

Nayagarh: Four persons were charred to death and another suffered critical injuries when an oil tanker exploded after falling off the Bada Pandusara bridge at Itamati in Odisha’s Nayagarh district late Friday night.

The tanker, which was enroute to Sambalpur from Cuttack, hit the bridge’s crash barrier after its driver lost control and fell off the bridge, plunging into the Kusumi River. The incident took place around 1.45 am.

Local residents rushed to rescue the driver and others in the tanker. Within minutes, however, the tanker, which was fully loaded with oil, exploded. Four persons were charred to death, including driver Sameer Nayak and helper Pankaj Nayak. The other two deceased, Dipu Khatua and Chandan Khatua, were local residents and trying to rescue the driver and helper.

Another man was seriously injured. He was rushed to Nayagarh district headquarters hospital. Later, he was shifted to Bhubaneswar after his condition deteriorated.

Police and fire service personnel later reached the accident spot.