EXPLOSION IN THE OIL TANKER TURNS MANDRA RAILWAY CROSSING INTO AN INFERNO

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EXPLOSION IN THE OIL TANKER TURNS MANDRA RAILWAY CROSSING INTO AN INFERNO

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The NLC oil tanker loaded with crude oil exploded near Murid railway crossing at mandra –Chakwal road some 18 Km from here at about 11.15 AM . The  highly inflammable  petroleum  splashed out of the oil tanker and fell on the nearby market, house  ,railway track and the tree around and the whole areas was  engulfed with flames. The driver and the helper of the tanker got serious burn injuries and were shifted to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Rawalpindi hospitals . The shopkeepers and the the commuters on the road miraculously remained safe amid this inferno.

     According to eye witnesses an NLC oil tanker that was transporting crude oil from Adhi oil fields of Gujar Khan stopped in front of a market after crossing the railway crossing at about 11.15 AM Friday morning. Raja Zafar iqbal the owner of the market while talking to Dawn said that he was sitting at the roof top of the market when he saw the helper of the oil tanker attempting to tighten the loosely closed exit valve of the tanker as the crude oil was leaking from it. He said that no sooner he handled the valve  fire broke out . Raja Zafar did not rule out the presence of a cigarette in the hands of the helper who could be identified as Muhammad Zaheer.

   According to Zafar on seeing the fire engulfing the oil tanker he jumped from the roof and raised hue and cry to ask the other people around to run for their lives. Later Zafar said that the oil tanker exploded with a huge explosion and the splashes of crude oil fell on every thing around. The market cositing of 10 shops, railway track, many a big trees including two Bodhi tree a distributing store of beverages received the splashes and were engulfed with heavy fire. The mammoth trees were engulfed with fire and the flames could be seen from many miles, said another eye witness who had reached there on seeing the inferno.

    According to Zafar the fire brigade at Municipal administration Gujar Khan was informed at 11.25 AM and the official reached there with out wasting any time but the old and inefficient fire engine of TMA was not enough to extinguish the fire. Later on the fire engines from Rawalpindi cantonment board, Tehsil administration Rawalpindi, CDA Islamabad , Missa oil and gas fields and last of all NLC fire extinguishing unit reached the spot and the fire could be controlled after every thing around was burnt to ashes.

     Ghulam Hussain and Abdul Hameed the fire fighters from TMA Gujar Khan said that they were first to reach but the fire flames were sky touching and the helpless residents and commuters were suggesting this shouting that but nothing could be done after sprinkling the water they had in 40 years old small fire engine.

    The railway track and the mandra –Chakwal road were highly vulnerable to this accident as the some part of the railway track and a considerable part of the road surface were burnt . Miraculously there was not train passing at the track or any vehicle was around when the explosion occurred.

    The whole building of the market and beverage store was gutted and completely damaged. A car parked in the garage of raja zafar was also burnt. Raja Zafar while talking to dawn said that he had suffered losses in millions of rupees while he also tanked Allah that other people and he  remained safe.

    It is petinent to mention that the crew of the oil tankers engaged fro transporting highly inflammable crude oil from Oil fieldsd to the refinery in Rawalpindi are least trained to observe precautions. A similar incident is Rawalpindi city was also attributed to the negligence of the oil tanker crew  when a helper   inaptly struck at the valve with a hammer and the sparks originating from forcible striking had engulfed the whole area in the busiest Murree road of Rawalpindi.

    The police force from Jatli Mandra and Gujar Khan police stations reached the spot while SP rural division also reached the spot to ensure public safety.

    The driver Adil shehzad resident and the helper

Muhammad Zaheer residents of  Pindi Gheb  have been shiftede to Rawalpindi hospitals and they were stated to be in critical conditions.