70-year-old man dies, wife hurt after two cylinders explode at Antop Hill home

The incident occurred when Ashokadevi was preparing food and tea on both the gas burners in her first-floor kitchen which was connected via a ladder

Mumbai: A 70-year-old man died while his 61-year-old wife suffered burn injuries after two cylinders exploded in their home at Jai Maharashtra Nagar chawl in Antop Hill on Wednesday night. The powerful explosion ripped through the house resulting in a massive fire which engulfed the ground plus the first floor.

Mumbai, India. April 25, 2024: A 70-year-old Pannalal Gupta died of burn injuries and his wife Ashoka Devi was injured after a fire broke out at a grocery shop at JaiMaharashtra Nagar, Antop Hill in Mumbai. April 25, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The fire brigade reached the spot within 10 minutes, however, 70-year-old Pannalal Vaishya could not be rescued on time as the blaze was strong. His wife Ashokadevi, 61, is currently admitted to Sion Hospital.

The incident occurred when Ashokadevi was preparing food and tea on both the gas burners in her first-floor kitchen which was connected via a ladder from the ground-floor grocery shop. At about 11.20pm, Pannalal got a strong smell of gas leak from the LPG cylinder. He immediately asked Ashokadevi to leave the home with their grandson, and within seconds, the cylinders exploded.

Pannalal hailed from the Jaunpur district in Tilora village of Rajasthan and has been living in Antop Hill for over six decades. He owned a kirana store which was on the ground floor of their chawl.

Upendra Gupta, a relative of the deceased said, “My uncle told my aunt to go out as he suspected something was wrong. She then left the home with the help of her grandson, but my uncle was left behind as within seconds the cylinders exploded.”

Pannalal and his wife lived alone in their one-room kitchen and were an issueless couple. Mohan Gupta who rescued Ashokadevi was his brother’s grandson. “Mohan lived in the adjoining room. He couldn’t save his uncle as the room had already caught fire and he was unable to enter it. There was a staircase leading from the shop to the first-floor room. Both the shop and home were gutted in the fire,” said Gupta.

The fire was confined to electric wiring, electric installations, grocery materials and household articles on the upper and ground floor of the chawl.