Inferno on the highway: Gas Tanker Explosion Claims Life

What began as a collision on a Russian highway escalated in seconds into a firestorm of steel and flame, leaving one driver dead and several others injured.

A devastating crash shook the M-12 at the 427th kilometre when a gas tanker slammed into a trailer hauling a full load of new passenger cars. In an instant, the motorway became an infernal stage of fire and twisted metal.

The impact ripped the tanker apart. Its cab was torn loose with brutal force and hurled in pieces dozens of metres away. The driver stood no chance; he died on the spot. Slow-motion video reveals the grim detail of part of his body, still strapped to the seat, tumbling beneath the wheels of a passing vehicle.

But the destruction did not end there. In a nearby car, an adult and a child were struck by flying fragments of wreckage. Both were rushed to hospital, their condition described as stable. Their vehicle bore heavy scars too, its windscreen shattered by a shard of debris that sliced straight through.

After the explosion, the scene was cloaked in smoke and acrid fumes. Fortunately, the gas itself did not ignite, though the leak forced emergency crews to contain and clear hazardous spills. Traffic along the busy artery had to be rerouted as the wreckage was removed and the roadway made safe once again.