Nayagarh (Odisha) [India], June 11 (ANI): As many as four people were killed and one was critically injured after an oil tanker at village Itamati in Odisha's Nayagarh exploded on Saturday morning.

According to the reports, the incident took place when the local residents reached the place where the tanker slid off the Bada Pandusara bridge at Itamati.

Also Read | West Bengal | IPS Praveen Tripathi is the New Howrah Police Commissioner & IPS Swati … – Latest Tweet by ANI.

The tanker was coming from Paradip at around 1.45 AM when the driver lost control over it and fell off after hitting the bridge's fence.

After the incident, the locals rushed to the spot to launch a rescue operation, but the oil tanker got exploded while the operation was underway, and hence all the four people involved in the rescue were charred to death.

Also Read | Casino Business in Goa Will Benefit From Mopa Airport, Says MoS SP Singh Baghel.

"At about 2 AM, two trucks carrying Diesel and Petrol were coming from Paradip to Nayagarh side when one of them hit the wall of a bridge near Bada Pandusara and fell into the river," Superintendent of Nayagarh Police, Alekha ch Pahi told ANI.

"Meanwhile, the staff of the second tanker went to rescue the members of the first tanker, when a sudden explosion took place and four persons died, while one received severe injuries," he added.

The deceased persons have been identified as Pankaj Nayaj, Dipu Khatua, Sameer Nayak and Chandan Khatua, while the injured Rakesh Samantray was shifted to Bhubaneswar hospital after his conditions deteriorated at Nayagarh district headquarters hospital.

The Itamati Police have registered a case in the matter.

Further investigation is going on. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)