Decoding Jaipur highway crash: SIT launches manhunt for LPG tanker driver who escaped inferno | Jaipur News – Times of India

JAIPUR: The special investigation team (SIT) of Rajasthan Police is working to piece together events leading up to Friday’s accident on Jaipur-Ajmer highway that claimed 13 lives and left over 30 injured.

Police sources said they have requested detailed information regarding rules and regulations governing the transport of petroleum, oil, and gas products on roads from relevant companies. The SIT was constituted to investigate the cause of the mishap.
The accident occurred when an LPG tanker, carrying gas from Mundra Port in Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh via the Ajmer-Jaipur National Highway, attempted to make a U-turn in Bhankrota area. Shortly after, at 5.44 am, a truck filled with blankets and bedsheets, approaching from the opposite direction, collided with the tanker while it was negotiating the turn.
‘Too early to pin blame solely on driver’
Officials said the driver of the tanker involved in the accident was identified. He had managed to escape the impact zone. “We contacted the vehicle’s owner on Friday and tried reaching him again on Saturday, but he was untraceable. SIT is now looking for whereabouts of the driver,” the official said.
“The nozzles and what appear to be safety valves could not withstand the pressure and broke. However, we have to check if the nozzles and valves broke because of the crash with the truck,” officials said. “Our primary assessment is that the tanker driver is the only person who escaped unscathed from the impact zone,” the official said.
Sources said while there have been prior incidents of LPG and CNG tankers overturning on highways, this is the first time that the city police have seen safety valves and nozzles come undone immediately after a crash. The SIT requested the tanker’s fitness certificates and details of the LPG content at the time of the accident, among other things.
“We will also approach BPCL regarding their regulatory policies concerning transportation of LPG via roads,” an official said, adding that safety requirements for LPG transportation by road are governed by various regulations, including The Static and Mobile Pressure Vessels Rules 1981.
“Modern tankers are designed to withstand shocks encountered during trans- port, but for valves to break off is a cause of concern,” an official remarked. According to regulations cited by authorities, drivers of vehicles carrying petroleum products are trained in using fire extinguishing equipment and are informed of emergency procedures to follow.
“The driver fled without alerting anyone because he knew there could be an explosion any moment. It would be too early to pin the blame single-handedly on the driver without proper investigation,” officials said.