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

A road accident on the national highway here on Sunday night led to panic among commuters after a collision led to a massive fire and multiple explosions.

According to initial reports, two vehicles collided head-on with such force that an explosion occurred 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 the fire. A passing truck was also damaged after being caught in the flames.

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. Then, multiple vehicles collided in a sudden chain reaction, leading to the fire.

In the earlier accident, two youths travelling on a motorcycle were severely injured. One of them, Asmir Rauf, a resident of Kerala, later 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  fracture in the leg and was rushed to the Civil Hospital.

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

Meanwhile, the fire brigade rushed to the scene and battled the flames late into the night.

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