New Delhi
A 35-year-old man died and four others were injured when an oxygen cylinder they were unloading from a truck exploded upon falling to the ground near a storage facility in D Block of Okhla Phase 1 on Wednesday morning, police said.
The deceased was identified as Mohit Singh, a helper at the firm operating the godown. Police said he died on the spot, while the four injured are being treated at AIIMS Trauma Centre. The incident took place around 10.43am, police said.
Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Vineet Kumar said, “The godown was being used by a company named SM Traders, a firm involved in the trading and local distribution of industrial oxygen cylinders.”
Preliminary investigation has found that the cylinders had been brought to the premises from Ghaziabad, when the incident took place at 10.43am.
The Delhi Fire Services and police confirmed that only one cylinder exploded and said that forensic and technical details have been collected to ascertain the reason for the blast.
DFS said they received a call at 10.47am about the incident and sent five fire tenders to the site. “By 10.55am, our men had reached the spot and told us that one person suffered severe injuries while others are injured. At 1155 hrs, we found that it was an oxygen cylinder which exploded and one person had died. There was no major fire,” a DFS official said.
{{/usCountry}}DFS said they received a call at 10.47am about the incident and sent five fire tenders to the site. “By 10.55am, our men had reached the spot and told us that one person suffered severe injuries while others are injured. At 1155 hrs, we found that it was an oxygen cylinder which exploded and one person had died. There was no major fire,” a DFS official said.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Singh, a resident of Jaitpur, had been working with SM Traders for around three years. The four injured were identified as Umesh, Arvind, Manoj and Pankaj.
Police said the premises had been operating as a rented godown for around one to two years, with three to four employees. “The firm is registered under GST and is reportedly engaged in supplying industrial oxygen cylinders to local traders and industries, particularly in the Okhla area. No oxygen-filling plant was found at the premises. The cylinders were reportedly received in filled condition from a supplier in Ghaziabad, identified as Ram Avtar, and subsequently supplied to local customers,” the DCP said.
Investigators said the firm handles around 70-80 cylinders a day. They are also verifying the ownership and source of the cylinders, the credentials of the supplier and whether the firm had the requisite statutory permissions and licences for the storage, handling and transportation of oxygen cylinders.
The firm owner has been detained and the spot has been secured, police said.
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