16 hours Ago By Dishank Purohit and Mr. Nitesh Kumar
JAIPUR: Moments after the inferno triggered by an LPG leak from a tanker after it collided with a truck on Friday, nearly 30 victims with various degrees of burns sought sanctuary in a farmhouse adjacent to the Jaipur-Ajmer NH. The family living in a makeshift home in the middle of the farm, startled by the cries for help, opened their doors to find a nightmarish scene unfolding. "They were begging for clothes, water.
.. anything to ease their pain," said Bhanwar Lal, head of the family, adding, "Their skin was charred and many of them could barely speak.
" Kandoi Hospital , a private medical facility, was just 1.5km away, but the path to it was obstructed by an eight-foot-high boundary wall separating the farmland from the medical facility. For the injured, many of whom were already weakened by severe burns, the wall seemed insurmountable.
That's when a 20-year-old member of the farming family, Rakesh Saini, stepped in. Grabbing a ladder, he positioned it against the wall, providing the victims a lifeline. "I saw at least 30 people running from the flames into our fields," Saini recounted.
"They were screaming in pain, their clothes burned off. I didn't think twice, I just brought the ladder." However, Saini realised that many of the victims were too weak to climb the ladder on their own.
"One by one, I was able to help all of them scale the wall." TOI then spoke to owner of Kandoi Hospital, Dr Raman Kandoi, who recounted the horrifying scene at his facility. "About 30 people with various degrees of burns reached the hospital in complete despair and begging for medical attention.
Their skin was burning, and they were writhing in pain," said Dr Kandoi. "The victims arrived one after another. It was a horrifying scene, even for me as a surgeon," he added.
Dr Kandoi and his wife, also a doctor, immediately began administering preliminary treatment. "Since we are located very close to the highway, we always have a couple of ambulances on standby with necessary staff. We rushed these people to SMS hospital," he said.
"At least 10 people had burns exceeding 60%. Time was of the essence so we started using the ambulances for multiple rounds to transport them to SMS hospital. It took about three to four trips to get everyone there," said Dr Kandoi.
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