Oil tanker overturns, people frenzy to share oils

Traffic came to a standstill at Kovur in Nellore district on the Chennai-Kolkata National Highway on Saturday morning when an oil tanker overturned, injuring the driver and cleaner. The local people got together and called the 108 van. After they sent the injured driver and cleaner to hospital, they saw oil was leaking from the tanker. This led to a frenzy among the people who brought in cans, vessels and just about any container they could gather and filled them up with oil and rushed back home to come back for a second serving. The people threw caution to the winds because a simple spark from a beedi or cigarette could result in a big explosion. The frenzy caused a stampede for taking the highly inflammable oil home. Quarrels over sharing the oils broke out. The people created a traffic jam and brought the vehicular movement to a halt.