The death toll in a gas tanker explosion on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway rose to ten on Sunday with two victims, including a 14-year-old girl, succumbing to severe burn injuries at Thane's Civil Hospital. Fourteen are injured in the accident.

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The tanker driver, identified as Bahadur Singh Gujar, 40, and cleaner Vasantlal Sahu, 30, were charred to death after the vehicle, which was carrying petroleum, exploded after it turned turtle on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway near Charoti naka. Eight people were charred to death, and nearby vehicles and the adjacent Apsara hotel were damaged, in the explosion. Among the victims, Sunil Umbersada, 30, and Anjali Bhobha, 14, died of severe burn injuries at the hospital."Reliance officials gave their statement and two victims died at the hospital while the other two are recuperating. The rest of the injured are safe and have been discharged after treatment, said a police official from Kasa police station.

"The lack of space between the road and divider led to the mishap as the driver first rammed into the railings and lost control and the tanker turned turtle and inflammable substance spilled on the road and ignited, said the official.

"While the corpses of a child and another person shrunk together, a total of eight bodies have been charred out of which only two have been identified. Only DNA analyses can reveal their identities," said inspector Pradip Magar of the Kasa police station.