30, including 7 cops, injured in cylinder blast at Aurangabad

The incident happened due to gas leakage at a house Sahebganj locality when family members were engaged in making prasad for Chhath puja.

At least 30 people, including seven from police, sustained burn injuries in a blaze caused by explosion of a cooking gas cylinder in Bihar’s Aurangabad district early Saturday morning, police said.

A video grab of a firefighter attempting to douse the fire that broke out at a house in Bihar's Aurangabad district on Saturday. (PTI)

The incident happened due to gas leakage at a house Sahebganj locality when family members were engaged in making prasad for Chhath puja.

“Ten of the injured, including three policemen, are stated to be critical and have been referred to specialised centres for treatment,” superintendent of police (SP) Kantesh Kumar Mishra said.

The house owner, Anil Goswami, said gas had begun to leak from the cylinder and it went up in flames before the occupants could clear off.

As the flames engulfed the house, locals started fire fighting and a police patrol also reached the spot. As soon as water was sprayed, the cylinder exploded, causing injury to policemen as well as locals.

M Mujaideen, a constable in the police patrol who was also injured, said, “By the time we reached there, fire had spread. We tried to extinguish the fire with a water pipe, but the cylinder exploded.”

Among the police personnel injured is also a woman constable, Mujaideen said.

Town police station sub-inspector Vinay Kunar Singh said, “The sudden blast led to injuries and panic spread.”