BALASORE: A driver was charred to death after a tea-laden container hit Laxmannath toll plaza gate no-6 under Jaleswar police limits in Balasore district.
Sources said vehicular movement on NH-16 in both directions to Odisha and West Bengal remained disrupted for several hours as the tea-laden container caught fire, leaving the driver dead in the wee hours of Sunday. A computer of the toll plaza and the gate were also reportedly burnt to ashes.
The staff of the toll plaza and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) narrowly escaped from the mishap.
Official sources said that the tea-laden container was heading towards Odisha from Kolkata. It hit the protection fence of the toll plaza and the fire originated from the engine spread to body of the container. Within a few seconds the container burnt to ashes and the driver was charred to death on the spot.
The staff of NHIA informed the fire personnel of Jaleswar and local police. On being informed, a team of police by IIC Ranjan Sethi and fire personnel reached the spot.
The body and engine of the container had already burnt by the time the fire personnel reached the spot. Sethi said the owner of the container has been informed and a case has been registered.
Further investigation is underway. The driver was yet to be identified. The body has been seized and sent to hospital for postmortem.