11 hurt as cylinder blast in Delhi leads to building collapse

NEW DELHI: 11 people were injured after an LPG cylinder exploded inside a single-storey house, causing it to collapse in northwest Delhi’s Mukundpur on Tuesday morning. Four of the victims suffered 40% to 50% burn injuries.

The house was being used as a utensil colouring and polishing unit and also to refill LPG cylinders.

Police said the workers were transferring gas from larger cylinders into smaller ones when the blast occurred, followed by a fire. The force of the explosion is believed to have brought down the already weakened structure spread across 250 square yards.

Police seized 84 cylinders from the spot and apprehended two people: Sudhir Rai and Harkesh Bahadur. The former, who was using the premises for coating utensils, allegedly stored 38 cylinders. Harkesh, who is the brother of the owner of the house, allegedly stored 46, DCP Hareshwar V Swami said.

A case under Sections 287 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 125 (endangering life or personal safety of others) was registered at Bhalswa Dairy police station. Another case under Sections 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act was registered.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call at 9.38am regarding the house collapse in a lane in Ishu Vihar, Mukundpur-II. A fire tender and two water bowsers, along with around 20 firefighters, were rushed to the spot.

Several workers were found trapped under the debris. Locals, cops and firefighters pulled them out and took them to hospital. JCBs were deployed to remove the rubble. Teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), DFS and police later combed the spot to ensure that no one remained trapped.

Locals claimed they lodged repeated complaints about cylinders being stockpiled in the house, but no one paid heed.

“My six-month-old son was outside with my mother when the blast took place,” Rohit Chaudhary, a local, said. “We were once told the unit had been shut down, but work inside it never stopped. For over two years, hazardous activities were going on in the middle of a residential colony, putting everyone at risk,” he added.

Another resident said, “We were sitting outside when we heard a loud blast. For a moment, it felt like an earthquake. People in the house that collapsed looked in bad shape: one person’s skin was peeled off, another’s face was barely recognisable and there was blood everywhere.”

The injured are Aman Kumar (18), Deepa (35), Akhilesh (38), Love (18), Arif (47) and Kalpana (30). Sofia Khatoon (25), Chandan (28), Shyam (30) and Vivek (40) suffered severe burn injuries. Another person couldn’t be identified.