JAIPUR: Three labourers were killed and four others sustained severe
burn injuries after gas leakage from a LPG cylinder triggered an explosion at their basement room located in Shahpura area of Jaipur rural Saturday afternoon.
The victims have been identified as
Kamlesh Chouhan (22,) Umesh (25), both natives of Bihar, and Upendra (23) from Uttar Pradesh.
Dr S S Yadav of
SMS Hospital said that four others were critical after they suffered 50% burn injuries. “Kamlesh sustained 90% burns, while Upendra had 55% burn injuries. They were brought dead,” Dr Yadav said.
Umesh died during the treatment. He had sustained 85% burn injuries. While the exact reason for the explosion is still under investigation, Shahpura SHO
Virendra Singh Rathore told TOI that seven labourers were staying inside a basement located underneath a shop.
Explosion left a big trail of destruction
“The gas is suspected to have leaked from an LPG cylinder. They were taking the cylinder out when somebody apparently turned on the lights which led to a high impact explosion,” he said, adding that all of them hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and were working at the industrial zone.
The nearby residents first informed the police control room and rang up the ambulance helpline. The spot was a picture of horror with sirens of ambulance wailing as the injured were being put on stretchers and rushed to the Shahpura health centre.
The explosion left a trail of destruction in its wake. The windowpanes of an adjacent house were damaged. A concrete wall of the shop above the basement came crumbling down, while its shutters were thrown at a distance of at least 50 metres. The doctors at Shahpura health centre referred all the injured to Jaipur for further treatment.
“There are multiple versions about what exactly transpired. Some people are saying that they unwittingly turned on the lights. We have also learnt that they may have come home to cook food when the blast occurred,” an official said.
Representative Image
