SAMBALPUR: The driver of a truck was charred to death after two trucks collided head-on near Bad Kundheisara village on the National Highway-53 under Jamankira police limits in the district early in the morning on Wednesday. The cleaner of the truck sustained severe injuries in the incident.
The police identified the deceased driver as Ram Ji (35) of Birsinghpur in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh and the injured cleaner, who is a relative of the deceased, has been identified as Edison Pal (30).
According to reports, the accident took place in the wee hours of Wednesday when a coal-laden truck going towards Sambalpur, collided head-on with another truck carrying pan masala, coming from the opposite direction, near Bad Kundeisara turning on the National Highway 53.
Following the collision, both vehicles overturned on the spot. However, the truck carrying pan masala suddenly caught fire due to which the driver of the vehicle, who had got trapped in the steering of the truck due to the accident, was burnt alive. The cleaner sustained critical injuries. The cabin of the coal-laden truck also caught fire and got damaged in the incident.
On getting information, police and the fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot. Though the fire was brought under control, by then the driver of the pan masala-carrying truck had already died. The cleaner was rushed to the Sambalpur district headquarters hospital (DHH). Traffic movement on NH-53 was also disrupted for some time due to the accident.
Inspector-in-charge (IIC), Jamankira police station, Susanta Dash said, it took more than two hours to bring the fire under control. The two trucks have been seized. However, the driver and the cleaner of the coal-laden truck fled the spot. “It appears that the fire might have originated from a gas cylinder which the staff of the truck, carrying the pan masala, had kept in the vehicle for cooking. However, the matter is under investigation to ascertain the exact reason,” the IIC said.