Daijiworld Media Network - Karwar (SP)
Updated
Karwar, Sep 3: The death toll in the ghastly tragedy that occurred at Bargi near Kumta in Uttara Kannada district on Tuesday September 1 morning has risen to four, with another victim succumbing to injuries on Thursday September 3.
The two who died on Wednesday were Jayashree Patgar (55), who was state BJP Mahila Morcha vice president, and her son, Bharat (24). Sources at the hospital in Manipal did not reveal the name of the fourth person who died, but said it was a 33-year-old woman.
Jayashree's mother, Nagaveni Jattu Patgar (84), who had suffered grave burn injuries when the tanker went up in flames, had died while being taken to Manipal for treatment on Tuesday. With this, a person each from three generations of a single family have lost their lives for no mistake of theirs.
Ten patients are being treated in the hospital at Manipal. They include Jayashree's husband, Srikant Sheshu Patgar, who works as deputy range forest officer at Katagal, and his son, Dheeraj. Jayashree had been given the state level post by the BJP considering her active service in different orgnizational capacities since the last many years.
The doctors at Manipal hospital have been striving to save all the ten persons being treated as in-patients, some of whom are in serious condition. One of them is stated to be in critical condition. The conditions of five persons including the tanker driver are stable, it is gathered. The driver underwent surgery on Tuesday for the right leg fracture he suffered in the accident.
The tanker had hurtled down into 30-feet deep gorge on hilly terrain at Bargi when moving to Goa from Mangaluru. One of the compartments of the gas tanker had started leaking. Within seconds, fire got ignited, and a huge blast ripped through the area. The gas in liquid form had spread up to 500 metres, and six houses and five cattle sheds were burnt down in minutes. While a number of animals lost their lives. Eight ambulances were rushed to the spot, and injured were taken to the hospital at Manipal.