Kheda, March 12
A tanker filled with nitrogen fell into a deep pit off the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Highway in Gujarat's Kheda district on Tuesday evening, leading to the evacuation of people from surrounding villages as a precaution.
According to officials, a tanker filled with chemicals was travelling towards Ahmedabad, when it took a wrong turn, which led to the accident of the tanker falling in around a 30-3 feet deep pit.
However, no injuries have been reported in the incident, officials confirmed.
District police officials, collector and top officials reached the spot earlier on Tuesday to assess the situation.
A lot of smoke was generated from the incident, which led to the closure of the highway for a brief period.
Along with the Nandiad fire brigade, Ahmedabad and Vadodara fire-fighting teams were also called on to help with diluting the smoke and pouring soil on it. A total of four bowser trucks and two emergency fire tenders were called from both the cities, according to officials.
According to District Collector, Amit Prakash Yadav, the highway will be opened after the visibility is completely cleared.
"The highway will be opened again as soon as the visibility is completely cleared. Also, to ensure that the work is done quickly, the administration called the fire personnel of Ahmedabad and Vadodara along with the Nadiad Fire Department team on the spot," he told ANI.
A fireman, Ashok Sharma recalled that even though no injuries have been reported, one person was taken to the hospital for a checkup as a precaution.
"When we reached the spot of the incident then no one was there, but I did hear that they brought one person to the hospital," he told ANI.
The fireman added, "This incident happened on the Ahmedabad-Baroda expressway. The tanker was originally going to Ahmedabad side but it crossed onto the wrong side when the accident happened. We had got to know that there is nitrogen in the tanker, and when we reached then we saw a lot of smoke coming out so we controlled it with foam and water."
- ANI