Panchkula cylinder blast: Death toll reaches five
All the deceased were part of the crowd that had gathered outside the house after they saw smoke emitting from inside, besides leakage of the gas.
The death toll in the last week’s cylinder blast at Panchkula’s Sector-10 house rose to five after two more area residents succumbed to their injuries at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, on Sunday, sending shock waves in the neighbourhood.
The deceased included 34-year-old software engineer Ajit Chaudhary, the owner of the house number 702 where the blast had occurred last Wednesday, and Ajit’s immediate neighbour, 77-year-old RC Sharma, who was a retired employee of Punjab State Electricity Board.
Ajit’s another neighbour Hem Raj Sharma was the first casualty of the blast on Friday.
All the deceased were part of the crowd that had gathered outside the house after they saw smoke emitting from inside, besides leakage of the gas. Ajit had rushed back from the market after he was told about the leakage. As he opened the door in presence of the neighbours, the cylinder blasted, injuring seven people. The intensity of the blast was so severe that the front portion of the single-storey house collapsed.
An injured Raj Kumar Singla is said to be critical and undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital in Mohali. The other three injured are stable and out of danger.
Died of burns, cardiac arrest
Ajit’s cousin Sanjeev Bhandari told HT that Ajit was recovering well after sustaining 60% burn injuries. “However, he suddenly got a cardiac arrest Sunday afternoon and could not survive thereafter,” he added. Meanwhile, RC Sharma’s son Amrit Sharma told HT that his father could not survive more than 70% burn injuries.
Amrit said his father was out for an evening walk on the night of the incident. “Being an immediate neighbour, he first called the house owner and went into the house to find out the cause of smoke. No one ever thought this would turn into a major accident,” he added.
Ajit’s family is in huge trauma and inconsolable after his death. He is survived by his wife and two young daughters, a six-year-old and a two-year-old. Ajit’s mother had died a few years back. His father lives in Kharar near Mohali.