Explosion In Rourkela Slum: Dead Body Identified

Rourkela: The identity of the woman whose body was recovered from the debris three hours after an explosion occurred at Telugu Basti of Madhusudanpalli area in Rourkela on Monday has been established.

She has been identified as Rekha Srivastav, daughter-in-law of Jawaharlal Srivastav.

“The body was found trapped under the debris of Jawaharlal’s house that was damaged in the explosion. It is suspected that Jawaharlal, a businessman, had stored firecrackers, a gas cylinder along with some explosives for sale during Diwali in the first floor of his house. This might have led to the mishap. However, an inquiry is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the incident,” Rourkela DSP Pradyumna Kumar Mishra informed.

According to fire officer Binod Singh, the fire personnel who reached the spot to douse the flames soon after getting a call about the incident that took place at around 12 pm, sensed some chemical-like smell. More than 30 houses adjacent to this house have been badly damaged under the impact of the explosion, Singh added.

Six persons were injured in the mishap. Two of the critically injured were rushed to Ispat General Hospital (IGH).