At least five persons were killed in a massive fire that broke out following a truck collision outside a petrol pump in Rajasthan’s Jaipur this morning. The incident took place around 5:30 am on Ajmer Road when a CNG tanker parked near the petrol pump caught fire after a truck collided with other vehicles.

According to officials, several more people are feared dead, while 35 others have been injured. Several victims are in a critical condition, officials added.

At present, efforts are being made to extinguish the fire which has engulfed several vehicles parked nearby.

The victims are being taken to a hospital and rescue operations are underway.

Visuals of the incident show a massive blaze and a cloud of black smoke above it – which can be seen from several kilometers away. Several cars were also burnt.

According to preliminary information, the truck that hit the other vehicles was reportedly loaded with a chemical.

“The fire has engulfed several trucks. The number of trucks involved in the incident is not clear. Some people with burn injuries have been rushed to hospitals in ambulances,” Station House Officer (SHO), Bhankrota, Manish Gupta told news agency PTI.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has also reached the hospital to meet the victims.

In another incident earlier this week, drivers of two trucks died after their vehicles caught fire following a collision in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district. The traffic on the highway was halted till the fire was doused, officials said.

Mumbai’s Colaba Police have written to the Indian Navy and the Maharashtra Maritime Board, seeking detailed information about the accident in the Arabian Sea between a ferry and a naval boat that killed 14.

Earlier this week, an Indian Navy boat conducting trial lost control and crashed into a ferry boat on its way to Elephanta island, claiming 14 lives and injuring several others. The police asked why the trial was being conducted on such a busy maritime route and also sought to know who gave permission for the same. Police sources say the protocols in place for the trial are also being investigated.

Under investigation is also the claim that the naval boat had a throttle problem, which caused it to lose control and crash into the passenger boat.

Further, the probe is checking if the ferry boat had seated more passengers than capacity.

The Navy on Thursday instituted a Board of Inquiry to probe the collision. Meanwhile, authorities made life jackets mandatory for all people taking boat rides from the Gateway of India.

The toll in the accident rose to 14 on Thursday when the body of a man who was among the two missing passengers was found. Search operation continues to locate a seven-year-old boy who is still missing. Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 98, including two injured, were rescued. There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived.

A fiery truck collision involving a chemical-laden truck disrupted the Jaipur-Ajmer highway on Friday morning. Several trucks caught fire near a petrol pump, causing burn injuries to an unspecified number of people. Ambulances transported the injured to hospitals while firefighters battled the blaze. Traffic on the highway came to a standstill as authorities worked to control the situation.