Ambulance caught fire and explodes

Aurangabad, April 8:

A 108 ambulance going for filling the fuel from Bhendala to Aurangabad burst due to the oxygen cylinder explosion at Waluj area on Thursday at around 4.30 pm. The doctor and the driver showing presence of mind jumped from the ambulance and saved themselves.

An 108 ambulance (MH 14 CL 0793) of the Bhendala Primary Health Centre in Gangapur tehsil on Thursday afternoon came to the petrol pump near Bajaj Auto in Waluj area. Driver Sachin Gorakhnath Karale (42) and Dr Prashant Popatrao Pandure (39, both residents of Gangapur) were in the ambulance. Driver Karale when came near Waluj, he smelt something burning and saw some smoke coming from the ambulance. He immediately parked the vehicle along the road and both of them jumped from it. The ambulance caught fire and the nearby people immediately informed about it to the Waluj Police Station and fire brigade.

Meanwhile, the fire tender of the Garware company came there and started extinguishing the fire but the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance exploded and the roof the ambulance burst into pieces.

Meanwhile, the fire tenders of the Bajaj Auto Company and Garware Company gained control on the fire. The traffic on the Aurangabad - Nagar Highway was jammed for around half an hour and long queues of vehicles were seen on the road. PI Prashant Potdar, API Vinayak Shelke, traffic PI Janardan Salunke and their team regularized the traffic.