Bhubaneswar: One person sustained critical injuries after multiple gas cylinders burst at a depot in Kalinga Nagar area of Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
The mishap occurred when a gas tank was being refilled, and several cylinders at the site went off. The blast triggered a massive fire that gutted the shop as well as four vehicles nearby and left one person critically injured.
The injured person was first rushed to a private hospital and then shifted to the Burns Ward of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar for intensive care.
According to sources, a small cylinder was being filled from a large cylinder without following the safety standards. The blast felt like an explosion for people in the neighborhood as many cylinders, which are inflammable, burst in quick succession with a deafening sound.
It has been alleged that number of cylinders being stored at the gas depot exceeded the permissible limit due to black marketing. The gas depot was being illegally operated from a house. Due to the ongoing war in West Asia, there have been concerns over future shortage of LPG gas cylinders. This has led to hoarding by some consumers and black marketing by suppliers, sources claimed.
