HYDERABAD: Two fuel tankers exploded injuring at least 16 persons, one of them critically with 90 percent burns, at a garage near Chengicherla in Medipally village on the city outskirts on Friday afternoon. The other 15 persons received 30 to 60 percent burns and were shifted to Gandhi Hospital, according to police. The injured included a biker, who was passing through the area when the tanker exploded. Two LPG cylinders in the garage too exploded, aggravating the situation. Soon after the mishap, hundreds of people living in the neighbouring buildings were evacuated.
The site is only about 500 metres from the Warangal highway and is densely populated. One of the tankers exploded first and its rear part was ripped apart and flung into another building. The panic-stricken residents quickly ran out of their homes. Another tanker, however, did not explode but was gutted. Eight fire brigades were rushed to the spot and it took them over 4 hours to control the fire. According to eyewitness accounts, three members of the garage sensed the disaster and alerted the neighbouring residents. The three persons, however, are absconding.
The incident took place at around 2 p.m. when one of the 3-member gang of the garage, was reportedly welding to close the seal of the tanker that was full of fuel. According to police, the garage was being run illegally in a 700 sq yards plot for the last 13 years.
DCP (Malkajgiri) Ch Uma Maheswara Sarma, who visited the spot, told Express that B. Raju, owner of the garage, was known to be an expert in opening sealed valves in fuel tankers and welding them back without leaving any scope for suspicion. Raju and his three-member team, according to police, used to pilfer petrol and diesel from fuel tankers and sell it in black market.
The racket has been going in with the connivance of tanker drivers, police said. On a daily basis, an average of six tankers visit the garage. Surprisingly, the drivers of the two tankers are also absconding. Meanwhile, A Raju, a school teacher who resides next to the garage, told Express that he and several others lodged complaints with police regarding the illegal business in their neighbourhood.
“No action has been taken against them. Even at the dead of night, fuel tankers arrive at the garage and we have raised this issue several times. Even police patrol vehicles are often seen being filled with fuel at the garage,” claimed A Raju. The DCP, explaining the cause of the fire, said that flames erupted from the tanker valves as welding was going on.