Daijiworld Media Network – Kaushambi

Kaushambi, Jul 3: The death toll in the LPG tanker fire near a toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district has risen to four after two more injured toll plaza employees succumbed to burn injuries during treatment, police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred on June 26 near the Sihori Toll Plaza under the Kokhraj police station limits when an LPG tanker travelling from Kanpur to Varanasi allegedly lost control, rammed into a road divider and caught fire following a gas leak.

CCTV footage of the incident has surfaced, showing the speeding tanker crashing into the divider moments before a massive blaze engulfed the vehicle and the surrounding area.

The tanker driver, Dharmendra Dwivedi, a resident of Mirzapur district, died on the spot after becoming trapped inside the vehicle's cabin.

Five toll plaza employees sustained severe burn injuries and were admitted to Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj. One of them, Alok Singh, died a day after the incident.

On Thursday, Hiramani Singh of Raebareli and Krishnapal Maurya of Lalitpur also succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll to four. Two other injured employees continue to undergo treatment.

Kokhraj Station House Officer Chandra Bhushan Maurya confirmed the latest fatalities and said legal proceedings were underway.

Police have sent the bodies for postmortem examination, while an investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.