Ludhiana: Bharat Nagar Chowk Gas leak incident, panic as tanker ferrying CO2 overturns on flyover

A tanker carrying 15,000 kg of carbon dioxide gas overturned on a flyover near Bharat Nagar Chowk in the early hours of Saturday causing panic in the area.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the overturned tanker spewing gas as driver Mantu, a resident of Bathinda, escaped with minor injuries. In his statement to police, Mantu said that he was transporting the industrial gas from Bathinda to a factory in Sherpur when the vehicle developed a technical snag while negotiating the flyover. “I lost control and the tanker toppled. When gas started leaking, I jumped out to save my life,” the driver said.

Local police responded swiftly to emergency calls. Division number 5 police immediately cordoned off the affected stretch as a safety precaution. “We blocked all traffic movement to prevent any potential ignition or health hazards,” sub-inspector Balwant Singh, station house officer of division number 6 police station said.

A recovery crane was pressed into service and the tanker was removed nearly after 10 hours, around 10am on Saturday and traffic was gradually restored.

No casualties were reported beyond the driver’s minor injuries, police said. The police have initiated a detailed investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the accident