Aizawl, Nov 03: The death toll in the oil tanker fire in the Aizawl district of Mizoram rose to six after two injured persons succumbed to their injuries.

The incident took place in the Tuirial area, where a tanker carrying petrol caught fire.

Aizawl district Superintendent of Police (SP) C. Lalruaia said that two men aged 41 and 37 died at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) and Greenwood, a private hospital in Aizawl on Wednesday.

The victims hailed from Tuirial, raising the total casualty from the village to six.

Lalruaia said that a police case was registered and an investigation is on into the matter. The driver of the vehicle, who fled the spot after the accident is yet to be arrested, said the SP.


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The incident occurred when the oil tanker carrying 22,000 litres of petrol was heading towards Champhai town in the northeastern part of the state bordering Myanmar.

The oil tanker met with an accident on National Highway-6 at around 3 pm. It caught fire and exploded at around 6 pm when locals of Tuirial village and motorists passing by tried to collect petrol leaking from the vehicle.

Lalruaia said that four people had died on the spot and at least 17 others were injured at the time of the incident.

He claimed that the police team immediately rushed to the spot as soon as they received information about the accident.

Police suspect someone might have lit a cigarette near the oil tanker causing the explosion. People familiar with the incident said the driver was drunk when the over-speeding vehicle met with the accident.