Fuel tanker catches fire at 'dhaba' in MP's Seoni district; man dies, 2 others injured

Seoni (MP), Aug 27 (PTI) A man died, while two others, including his brother, suffered burn injuries when an oil tanker parked near a 'dhaba' suddenly caught fire in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, a police official said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on the intervening night of August 26-27 at Kaudia on Seoni-Balaghat road, about 40km from the district headquarters, he informed.

Barghat Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Lalit Gathre said a petrol-diesel tanker parked near a 'dhaba' (roadside eatery) suddenly burst into flames.

One Pankaj Patle (23), who was in one of the rooms at the eatery, was burnt to death, while his brother Rahul (27) and tanker driver Arvind Parihar (45) were injured, he said.

The injured were being treated at a local hospital, while the deceased's body was handed over to his relatives on Wednesday morning after a post-mortem examination, the official informed.

SDOP Gathre said the cause of the fire was not yet clear and police were conducting an investigation after registering a case.

The probe will also try to ascertain if the incident occurred during an attempt to pilferage fuel from the tanker, he stated.

Due to the fire incident, movement of vehicles on the Seoni-Balaghat state highway was disrupted for about three hours.

According to the police, the tanker, belonging to an oil PSU, was filled with about 14,000 litres of highly flammable fuel and was going from Jabalpur to Balaghat which it stopped at the dhaba.

Fire brigade personnel later brought the blaze under control, they added. PTI COR MAS RSY