Jaipur tragedy: 'He walked 600m in flames for help, bystanders shot videos...' Brother recalls terrible moment
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Dec 21, 2024, 1:07 PM ISTA gas tanker explosion on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway early Friday left 32-year-old Radheyshyam Choudhary among the victims. Radheyshyam, a motor mechanic, was unaware of the disaster that awaited him.
Tragedy struck on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway early Friday when a gas tanker explosion left devastating consequences. Among the victims was 32-year-old Radheyshyam Choudhary, a motor mechanic with National Bearings Company Ltd in Jaipur. On his usual ride from his home near Ring Road, Radheyshyam had no idea that a catastrophe awaited him just 2 kilometers down the road.
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By mid-morning, harrowing videos from the scene surfaced online, showing the terrifying aftermath of the explosion. One such video captured Radheyshyam, his body engulfed in flames, struggling to remain on his feet as he desperately sought help amid the deafening sounds of the disaster. His outstretched arms and burning figure became a painful symbol of the chaos and devastation caused by the explosion.
Radheyshyam Choudhary's elder brother, Akheram, was woken up at 5:50 a.m. by a stranger's call with an urgent message: "Come to Heerapura bus terminal immediately. Your brother is in trouble." Still groggy, Akheram rushed to the scene with two neighbors. What he saw upon reaching the accident site would haunt him forever.
"My brother was lying on the road," Akheram said, his voice breaking with emotion. "People told me he had walked nearly 600 meters after the explosion. He was crying out for help, but instead of offering assistance, most bystanders were recording videos."
Realizing that an ambulance would be delayed due to the traffic chaos, Akheram and his neighbors decided to carry Radheyshyam to their car.
"He was conscious and able to speak clearly all the way to the hospital," Akheram recalled. "He told us exactly what happened, though he was trembling intermittently. He even mentioned giving my number to the person who had called to alert me. It was incredible that he could remember my number despite the intense pain he was in. Watching him suffer so badly yet still speak so calmly was unbearable."
As they made their way to the hospital, Radheyshyam shared the chilling details of the moments before the disaster. He recalled feeling the ground tremble just seconds before a massive wave of flames swept through everything in its path.
In a split-second decision, Radheyshyam jumped off his bike and ran, but the flames quickly caught up with him. Despite his painful injuries, he kept running and walking until he found someone who could call his brother for help.
At SMS Hospital, the medical staff, already stretched thin by the influx of accident victims, quickly admitted Radheyshyam for treatment with 85 per cent of burns.
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