Panic after truck carrying gas cylinders explodes

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 14

A major tragedy was averted when a truck loaded with cooking gas cylinders exploded near Udeywal Mand village in the Machiwara area late last night. The truck driver and the cleaner had a narrow escape. Driver Labba Ram said explosions continued till all 450 cylinders loaded in the truck exploded one after the other.

The impact was such that splinters of the cylinders fell as far as a kilometer away. The midnight explosion caused panic in about 20 villages around the sleepy town of Machiwara. Villagers said they were shaken up from their sleep and crouched under beds for cover in panic. While some presumed it was a bomb blast, others thought it was a cloudburst.

The driver said he was ferrying the cylinders from Ambala to Noormahal. Around midnight, he entered Udeywal Mand village and due to the bumpy road, cooking gas cylinders began to collide with each other. Sub Inspector Jaswinder said cooking gas cylinders caught fire due to leakage.