CHANDIGARH: Two people were killed and 21 others injured, 15 of them critically, after an LPG tanker exploded following a collision on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur highway near Mandiala village on Friday night. The district administration has initiated an inquiry into the incident.Sources said the blast allegedly occurred after a petroleum tanker attempted to make an improper turn and collided with a vegetable-laden Mahindra pickup, triggering a massive explosion. The blaze spread rapidly, damaging and engulfing at least 15 shops and four to five houses, trapping villagers, many of them asleep, leaving little time to escape.Ambulances and fire tenders from Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Phagwara and the Adampur Air Force Station were mobilised, along with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Police personnel from different stations were also dispatched immediately. The injured were rushed to Hoshiarpur Civil Hospital, with critical patients referred to other facilities. A special team of doctors from Amritsar Medical College has been deployed to assist.Hoshiarpur Civil Surgeon Dr Pawan Kumar and Senior Medical Officer Dr Kuldeep Singh said 23 patients were brought to the Civil Hospital. “One was declared dead on arrival, and another succumbed while being taken to a private hospital. At present, five patients remain admitted at the Civil Hospital, 14 have been referred to other facilities, and two have been discharged,” they added.Deputy Commissioner of Hoshiarpur, Aashika Jain, stated that all the injured are being treated free of cost under the Farishte Scheme of the state government. She assured that compensation would be provided to the families of the deceased as per government norms and emphasised that no lapses in medical care would be tolerated.
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