TURA: Eight persons were injured when an LPG cylinder exploded after a fire broke out due to a short circuit in an RCC building in the heart of Tura town’s Beldarpara locality in the main market area on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at 7.20am when an immersion rod caused the electricity supply to short-circuit. The spark caused a fire to break out that quickly engulfed a set of clothes left nearby and the blaze soon spread to a gas cylinder that exploded due to the heat of the flames.
A visit to the site of the incident did not reveal much as the owner of the house had vacated it and locked it up intending to stay with relatives for the time being. However, a neighbour informed that the intensity of the blast was subdued as the cylinder that exploded was almost empty.
“Many people responded to the fire quickly and were trying to douse it by throwing sand. It was then that the cylinder exploded injuring many who tried to help,” the neighbour said. Police said while three persons suffered minor injuries, five victims, including two teenagers, have been shifted to NEMCARE Hospital in Guwahati.
The five who have been taken to Guwahati are Shovodeep Ghosh (18), Benoi Adhikari (25), Prosan Lohar (34) and Bogudik Ghosh (34), all residents of Beldarpara, and Mohit Hajong (18) from Betasing in South West Garo Hills.
Among the five, Shovodeep is said to be critical with severe burns to his head and back. The other three victims with minor injuries- Modu Sudhan Adhikari (57), Lalsing Pui (49) and Arup Paul (47) are being treated at Tura Civil Hospital.
West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police MGR Kumar said the close proximity of the Fire and Emergency Service (F&ES) vehicles to the site of the incident helped in controlling the flames quickly.
“The incident occurred in a crowded area and thus the high number of injuries. There were no injuries received by fire tenders and they were able to put out the fire quickly. However, some people who wanted to help tried to douse the fire on their own and suffered injuries,” the SP said.
