At least three persons were killed and several others injured when an oil tanker exploded in Vaishali district of Bihar on Wednesday.

The incident occurred near Godia Chowk market under Goraul police station on National Highway-22.

The deceased have been identified as Ranjeet Yadav, 47, Vinod Chaudhary, 40, and Vakil Sahni, 48. Ranjit was the driver and Vinod the helper of the tanker while Vakil was the owner of a nearby welding workshop.

A severely injured person, identified as Kaushal Kumar of Islampur village, was admitted to Hajipur Sadar hospital.

“We were having tea around 100 metres away when we heard a loud explosion. We saw a plume of smoke and heard the cries of people. We rushed to the spot and saw three bodies lying there. Many others were injured,” Munna Bhagat, a local resident, told reporters.

Eyewitnesses said the oil tanker had stopped at the welding workshop to get some repairs done.

They were not sure whether the tanker was carrying highly inflammable fuel or was empty. Residents blocked the national highway for several hours by burning tyres.