LUCKNOW: The death toll in the horrific LPG tanker explosion at a toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district has risen to four, after two more injured toll plaza employees succumbed to their burn injuries on Thursday. Shuddering CCTV footage capturing the exact moments of the speeding tanker hitting the divider and bursting into a massive fireball has also surfaced on social media.

The tragic accident occurred on the morning of June 26 at the Sihori Toll Plaza under the Kokhraj police station limits. An LPG tanker traveling at a high speed from Kanpur to Varanasi reportedly lost control and rammed violently into a highway divider. The impact caused an immediate and massive gas leak that spread rapidly across the toll lanes before erupting into a catastrophic blaze, engulfing the entire toll booth area.

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The tanker driver, identified as Dharmendra Dwivedi from the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, became trapped inside the crumpled cabin of the vehicle and was charred to death on the spot. Five toll plaza employees who were inside the booths suffered severe, life-threatening burn injuries and were rushed to the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj for emergency treatment. One of the injured workers, Alok Singh, passed away the following day.

On Thursday, two more critically injured toll workers—Hiramani Singh, a resident of Raebareli, and Krishnapal Maurya, a resident of Lalitpur—succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, taking the overall death toll to four. Two other toll employees remain hospitalized. Kokhraj Station House Officer (SHO) Chandra Bhushan Maurya confirmed the latest casualties, stating that the bodies have been sent for postmortem examination and further legal and statutory investigations into the accident are underway.X

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