2 vehicles collide in Punjab's Phagwara, catch fire, lead to explosions

A road accident on National Highway-1 near Eastwood, Phagwara, on Sunday night triggered panic among commuters after a collision led to multiple explosions and a massive fire.

According to initial reports, two vehicles collided head-on with such force that an explosion occurred almost immediately, engulfing both vehicles in flames within seconds. Multiple subsequent blasts were also heard.

The incident occurred near Chaheru village, where a chain collision involving several vehicles triggered a fire. A passing truck was also damaged after being caught in the flames.

Two youths travelling on a motorcycle were severely injured. One of them, Asmir Rauf, a resident of Kerala, succumbed to his injuries. His body has been shifted to the Civil Hospital mortuary for post-mortem. Rauf was pursuing a course in Airport Management at a private university here.

His companion, Vinayak, also a student, sustained a leg fracture and was rushed to the Civil Hospital.

SHO Hardeep Singh of Satnampura police station said the traffic from Phagwara towards Jalandhar was already slow due to an earlier accident where police were engaged in relief operations. Immediately afterwards, multiple vehicles collided in a sudden chain reaction, leading to a devastating fire.

Preliminary findings suggest that the blaze erupted after a series of collisions.

Meanwhile, fire brigade units rushed to the scene and battled the flames late into the night to bring the situation under control.

Eyewitnesses described the incident as terrifying, saying the sequence unfolded so rapidly that people had little time to react. Long queues of vehicles formed on the highway, and commuters faced inconvenience as rescue teams worked to clear the area.