Two killed as lorry hits ONGC pipeline

TIRUCHY: A lorry driver and cleaner were burnt to death, when their vehicle loaded with rice bags hit a Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) pipeline, resulting in a fire accident at Tiruvarur near here. The pipes along the Tiruvarur-Dhayanapuram road were damaged due to the collision, leading to oil leak and eruption of fire. ONGC was informed about the oil leak and fire immediately. Subsequently, the oil supply was stopped. However, fire personnel had to battle hard to extinguish the flames which were burning for about three hours.According to police, as soon as the lorry caught fire, the driver Kalaiyarasan (40) was charred to death. The clearner Balamurugan (20) who also suffered burn injuries was admitted to the Tiruvarur government medical college hospital, where he died.A 12-year-old girl, Senthamarai Selvi, who was nearby too suffered burn injuries. She is being treated at the medical college hospital, police said. The accident took place on Saturday night. The pipelines were carrying oil from the wells to the ONGC godown at Vellakkudi.District Collector S Munianathan, Deputy Superintendent of Police R Dinakaran inspected the spot. A case was registered with the Tiruvarur police, who are investigating.