The incident took place in an industrial area of Mandiala village. The blaze spread rapidly and engulfed nearly 15 shops and four to five residential houses in the vicinity, said police. Fire tenders have been rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control.
The incident took place around 10 pm on Friday. Deputy Commissioner Jain and Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Malik arrived at the spot and supervised the relief operations. Ambulances were also rushed to the spot to carry injured persons to the hospitals.
"The fire broke out, probably due to a road accident. Patients with burn injuries have been admitted to the hospital... One casualty has been reported... It appears that a gas leak occurred following a road accident involving a gas tanker... This is an industrial area, so there may be some migrants who are injured here," Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain said.
Punjab Minister visits accident site
Punjab Minister Ravjot Singh also reached the incident spot to take stock of the situation and rescue operation.
"The situation is such that it cannot be described. A very tragic accident has happened... It is not yet known how many people are missing. People are saying that a tanker hit a car, after which a blast occurred because gas leaked... The fire has spread widely," Singh said while talking to media.
18-20 sustain burn injuries
Civil Surgeon Pawan Kumar reported that two individuals were declared dead upon arrival at the Hoshiarpur Civil Hospital and between 18 to 20 others were admitted with injuries.
"Five to six patients with serious burn injuries have been referred to another medical institute," he said. (With inputs from agencies)
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