Pramesh S Jain
Ten migrant workers sustained serious burn injuries after a suspected LPG cylinder explosion ripped through a paying guest (PG) accommodation in Bommasandra on the outskirts of Bengaluru early Thursday morning.
The incident occurred at around 6.30 am. at Sai PG, located within the limits of Hebbagodi Police Station.
The building is owned by Nagaraj Reddy and had reportedly been leased to another person.
Senior officer said nine workers employed at M Engineering Company were staying in a second-floor room of the PG.
The explosion is suspected to have occurred due to an LPG gas leak when the occupants woke up and were preparing breakfast.
Six of the injured suffered more than 60 per cent burn injuries and were shifted to Best Hospital,Chandapura, where they are undergoing treatment.The remaining injured also sustained burn injuries.
The injured have been identified as Debasis Halder, Debasis Malik,Subrata Bera,Habibul Rehman,Sourav Chowdhary,Santan Ray,Syed Alahuddin,and Biswanath. All are migrant workers from West Bengal.
The blast triggered panic in the building and caused damage to portions of the PG.Fire and Emergency Services personnel rushed to the spot,extinguished the fire,and secured the area.
Hebbagodi police inspected the scene and have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the explosion.
Preliminary findings indicate the blast may have been caused by an LPG cylinder leak,though the exact cause is yet to be established.
Ramesh Banoth,IPS inspecting the site,remarked that “everything you see there is a violation,”and confirmed that investigators are probing how nine people were permitted to stay in one room.
Hebbagodi police and night patrol officers rushed to the spot immediately after the blast.
Preliminary investigations suggest the explosion was caused by a buildup of gas from a leaking cylinder.
Officials noted that the workers had likely shut all windows overnight to keep mosquitoes out, which trapped the leaked gas inside.
The cylinder reportedly belonged to a local private brand, and police are now verifying the company’s credentials along with the quality of the cylinder,regulator and connecting pipes.
