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New Delhi, July 3, 2026: A horrific highway accident captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras has turned into a major tragedy as the death toll from the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker explosion at the Sihori Toll Plaza has risen to four. The tragic incident, which initially left several people critically injured, has sent shockwaves across the region, bringing highway safety protocols and the management of hazardous cargo back into sharp focus.
The disaster unfolded on the morning of June 26, 2026, when a massive LPG chemical tanker lost control, rammed into a safety divider, and violently overturned right at the toll plaza gates. Within moments of the impact, a catastrophic gas leak triggered a massive fireball explosion that engulfed the entire structure, trapping toll workers and incinerating nearby vehicles.
The Anatomy of the Crash: How the Disaster Unfolded
According to the local police and eyewitness accounts from the site, the high-capacity LPG tanker was traveling from Kanpur and was headed toward Varanasi. The accident occurred around 7:00 AM at the Sihori Toll Plaza, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Kokhraj police station limits, approximately 16 kilometers from the Kaushambi district headquarters.
Eyewitnesses noted that there had been light rainfall in the area just ten minutes prior to the accident, leaving the asphalt slick. Visual evidence recovered from the toll booth’s CCTV network shows the heavy tanker moving at an estimated speed of 60 to 70 kilometers per hour. In a reckless attempt to overtake another vehicle near the approach lanes, the driver lost control of the steering wheel.
The speeding tanker hit the central lane divider with tremendous force, causing the massive vehicle to tip over and skid directly into the toll booth infrastructure. The impact instantly ruptured the heavy-duty pressurized gas tank, releasing highly volatile LPG vapor into the air.
Inferno at the Toll Booth: Immediate Aftermath and Casualties
The subsequent explosion was so intense that towering walls of fire and plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen from over two kilometers away. The fire rapidly spread across the toll plaza yard, cutting off escape routes for employees stationed inside the cabins. It also quickly spread to an adjacent toilet block and the parking yard where employees kept their personal vehicles.
The initial blast left the tanker driver and multiple toll booth workers trapped within the impact zone. While early reports indicated five severe injuries, subsequent updates from medical authorities and the Kokhraj police confirmed that the injuries were catastrophic, resulting in a rising death toll.
- Dharmendra Dwivedi: The tanker driver, a resident of the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, was pinned inside the crushed cabin of the vehicle. Due to the rapid spread of the fire, he could not be extricated in time and died on the spot.
- Alok Singh: A toll plaza supervisor who sustained deep thermal burns while trapped near the office block, succumbed to his injuries the following day during emergency treatment.
- Hiramani Singh & Krishnapal Maurya: Two toll plaza operators who were battling for their lives with over 80% body burns passed away at the hospital, further mounting the tragedy.
Two other employees continue to undergo intensive medical care at the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj, where doctors describe their conditions as critical but stable. Beyond the human toll, the property damage was extensive. At least 16 motorcycles and two cars parked in the employees’ lot were completely reduced to ashes within minutes.
Emergency Response and Structural Damage
The sheer magnitude of the LPG leak made the initial phase of the rescue operation incredibly perilous. Local fire brigades and police teams arrived promptly, but the extreme heat and the constant threat of secondary explosions forced emergency personnel to maintain a safe distance until specialized foam tenders could suppress the volatile gas pockets.
Superintendent of Police Satyanarayan Prajapat stated that district authorities immediately mobilized supply officers and technical safety teams to the site to assist the fire department in cooling operations.
To prevent further loss of life, the police cordoned off the entire highway segment, halting all commercial and private traffic on both sides of the toll plaza. Hundreds of buses, trucks, and passenger cars were stranded for hours as emergency crews worked to neutralize the leaking gas tanker and clear the charred debris from the highway lanes.
Authorities Launch Probe into Safety Failures
Kokhraj Station House Officer (SHO) Chandra Bhushan Maurya confirmed that the bodies of the deceased have been taken into custody for formal postmortem examinations. A high-level investigation involving the District Supply Officer (DSO) and technical experts from the petroleum industry has been initiated to determine the precise technical failures that led to the leak and subsequent explosion.
Investigators are focusing on two main areas: administrative road safety compliance and vehicle maintenance standards. Heavy vehicles carrying hazardous materials like LPG are legally bound by strict speed limits and are prohibited from making aggressive overtaking maneuvers, especially under wet road conditions. The CCTV footage clearly demonstrates a violation of these safety regulations. Furthermore, authorities are checking whether the tanker’s emergency shut-off valves failed to deploy automatically upon impact, which allowed the gas to escape so rapidly.
As the community mourns the loss of the toll plaza employees who were simply performing their morning duties, this incident serves as a grim reminder of the dangers posed by high-speed commercial traffic on India’s national highways and the critical need for stricter enforcement of hazardous cargo regulations.
This video provides an on-the-scene look at the intense fire and the immediate aftermath of the crash at the toll plaza: LPG Gas Tanker Catches Fire At Kaushambi Toll Plaza