Jaipur tanker blast: Vasundhara Raje meets kin of injured, follows medical protocol

by IANS |

Jaipur, Dec 23 (IANS) Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited SMS Hospital in Jaipur on Monday to check on the condition of those injured in the Jaipur LPG tanker blast.

In line with medical protocols and to avoid the risk of infection to the patients, she refrained from entering the ICU of the Burn Unit. Instead, she met the families of the injured in the office of Superintendent Sushil Bhati.

Lok Sabha member from Jaipur Manju Sharma accompanied her during the visit.

Raje expressed her empathy with the kin of the injured victims and offered all assistance.

After visiting the families, she said and also posted on X, “I wish to extend my condolences to the families who have lost their members. It was a horrible accident. The doctors are taking care of everyone..."

She said this was a humanitarian issue and not a political matter.

At least 12 people were burnt alive in a catastrophic chain of events that unfolded on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway early on December 20 when a truck crashed into an LPG Tanker taking a U-turn, triggering a fireball that engulfed close to 34 vehicles. Several people were injured with some battling for their lives with severe burn injuries.

“The Jaipur-bound tanker was coming from Ajmer and tried to take a U-turn from the highway to move towards the Agra Road,” said Jaipur Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph. “While taking the turn, an Ajmer-bound truck coming from Jaipur suddenly appeared and hit it from behind. The collision caused a gas leak and it immediately caught fire. The rest of the mishap took only 10 to 15 minutes.” Over 30 people are in SMS hospital getting treatment for burn injuries. Out of these, many are on ventilators and have sustained over 60 per cent burn injuries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the accident. The Rajasthan government also announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those injured.