Jalandhar: Four more persons, who sustained severe burns in a tanker accident on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar road on Friday night, succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll to seven.
Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain said the victims — Manjit Singh (60), Vijay (17), Jaswinder Kaur (65) and Aradhana Verma (30), all residents of Mandiala — died at a private hospital during the night. Civil Surgeon Dr Pawan Kumar said the four had suffered more than 90 per cent burns and were on ventilator support.
Around 10 pm on Friday, an LPG tanker collided with a vegetable-laden pickup near Mandiala adda, causing both vehicles to catch fire. The blaze quickly spread, engulfing about 15 shops and at least four houses nearby, police said. Two people were killed and 21 others injured at the site. Another person died on Saturday before four more succumbed later in hospital.
Dr Kumar said one victim was brought dead to the Government Hospital in Hoshiarpur, while two others died during treatment at different hospitals, including the Government Medical College in Amritsar.
Earlier, residents of Mandiala and nearby villages blocked traffic on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar road for more than three hours, demanding compensation and strict action against those responsible. DC Jain assured the protesters that the injured were being treated free of cost under the Punjab government’s Farishta scheme.
