MillenniumPost
Bengal

Alert driver steers burning oil tanker to safety

A brave oil tanker driver took his burning vehicle out of the densely populated area, after the vehicle accidentally caught fire. The incident took place on National Highway 34 in Alipurduar on Friday morning.

The driver of the oil tanker was sitting on a roadside restaurant when the incident took place. The local people said the driver drove his burning vehicle to a vacant land and left it there and prevented a bigger devastation.

However, five shops and a housel could not be saved. Those shops and house were gutted. Eight fire engines reached to the spot to douse the flame.

Police tried to control the traffic situation after the incident. But the traffic was stuck for several hours.

The fire brigade started an investigation to find out the reason behind this fire incident.

“The driver was not in the vehicle while the incident took place. We want to know the source of the fire,” said a fire brigade officer.

However, in another incident, fire broke out in a market in front of Malbazar SDO office late on Thursday night. At least 12 shops were gutted there. Five fire-tenders rushed to the spot, but could not save the destruction of those shops. The shopkeepers, who reached the spot that night, only saw their shops reduced to ashes in front of them.

Some of those shopkeepers suspected foul play here. The local residents joined hands with the fire brigade to extinguish the fire. “The property of worth Rs 10 lakh was gutted. The traders there demanded compensation to the local administration,” said a police officer. “We have demanded compensation to the administration. Most of us are the only bread-earners of their family. We’ll not be able to run our family. How do we gather food for our children?” said a trader.
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