Four die in house collapse after LPG cylinder blast in Ghaziabad’s Loni

Four persons, including two women and two children, died after their two-storeyed house collapsed following an explosion in Bablu Garden locality of Ghaziabad’s Loni on Wednesday morning, police said.According to the family, the explosion and collapse was caused by an LPG cylinder; however, police are yet to ascertain the actual cause.According to police, the explosion took place around 9.30am, leading to over two-thirds of the structure collapsing. The house, they said, belonged to one Muneer Ahmad who lived there with his wife, five sons, a daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. He is out of town for work, police said, adding six of his family members were home at the time of the incident.“We rushed two fire tenders along with personnel to the spot. More than two-thirds of the house had collapsed due to the impact of the explosion and at least six people were buried under the debris. Those injured said that the LPG cylinder had exploded. Teams of police and the National Disaster Response Force also rushed to the spot to help in rescue efforts,” Sunil Kumar Singh, chief fire officer, said.Also read: Delhi set to withdraw ₹500 fine for not wearing masks as Covid cases dip: ReportUttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath also condoled the deaths and directed officials to take up relief and rescue work and treatment of the injured persons. “#UPCM @myogiadityanath has expressed his grief at the cylinder blast accident in Ghaziabad. The chief minister has condoled the deaths. He has directed the district administration to immediately get the injured treated at a hospital, and has wished them a speedy recovery. He has also directed administration officials and police to initiate relief works,” the chief minister’s official handle on Twitter said in a series of tweets in Hindi.Meanwhile, neighbours of the densely populated locality said they rushed out of their houses when they heard the explosion.“We rushed to the spot after hearing the loud blast and saw the house had collapsed and people were buried under the rubble. Other neighbours and I immediately started the initial rescue. Rescue personnel soon arrived and helped us pull out the people.I helped pull out five persons--three of them were dead and two others were injured,” Mohammad Shamshad, a neighbour, said.The police identified the four deceased persons as Muneer’s 15-year-old daughter Saniya, his 10-month-old granddaughter Inayat, his 24-year-old daughter-in-law Rukaiyya and Shabnoor, 21, a relative who was visiting the house on Wednesday.Two of those injured were identified as Muneer’s wife Mehraj, 45, and his other 18-year-old granddaughter Baby.The incident could have led to more casualties and injuries had Mohsin, one of Muneer’s sons, not left home earlier than usual. He told police that he drives an auto and took his three-year-old nephew out for a joyride about a minute before the incident.“My nephew requested me to take him for a ride. So, before leaving for work, I decided to give him a round of the locality in my auto. We both left a minute before we heard the explosion. I drove back home and was shocked to see that my entire house had collapsed. We were saved by luck, otherwise we would have been hurt or worse,” Mohsin said.Also read: ‘Unconstitutional’: Manish Sisodia after Delhi L-G orders probe into AAP's power schemeHe added that the explosion occurred in the kitchen while the women were cooking.“Generally, the women of the family change the LPG regulator and cylinders when they are empty. They were cooking when the incident took place. Three of my family members and one relative died. Two others are under treatment but they are stable. My fatheris in Bhopal for work. He has been informed. He will arrive late Wednesday night,” Mohsin added.The police said that they have not received any complaint regarding the incident so far but they are investigating the reason behind the blast.“The injured persons were rushed to hospitals in Delhi and Ghaziabad. Doctors declared four of them dead. The two injured are still in hospital and under treatment,” said Iraj Raja, superintendent of police (rural).“Our field units and other forensic teams are still trying to trace the LPG cylinder which the family says exploded. The cause of the blast is yet to be established,” he reiterated.

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