Hyderabad, December 20: A catastrophe was averted at Begumpet here tonight when fire tenders rushed over to douse a tanker that went up in flames while unloading its consignment into the sump at the IBP petrol station.
The tanker driver sustained minor burns. The fire broke out at 8:15 pm, minutes after the tanker came in from the the oil station, right behind the petrol bunk.
The driver had just begun unloading the fuel into the sump, learnt to have been almost empty for the last two days, when the fire suddenly broke out from the sump.
Within no time, it engulfed the tanker. Customers waiting for a fill immediately drove off in panic.
Employees of the petrol bunk initially tried to put out the fire by using the emergency extinguisher but in vain. It was the timely intervention of the firemen that averted a major mishap which could have taken many lives as there are many residential apartments in the vicinity.
“On receiving the call, we arrived within minutes. It took nearly 30 minutes to extinguish the fire. The tanker’s tyres were completely burnt but the fire luckily did not reach the oil in the tanker,’’ fire officials told reporters.
IBP manager Thomas Abraham said the investigation team had started its probe.
–Agencies