Chennai: Two children died and four others were seriously injured after a cooking gas cylinder exploded inside a house in Navalur near Chennai on Sunday, officials said. The explosion occurred at a house on 2nd Street in Chamundeswarar Nagar, a residential neighbourhood in Navalur located on the southern outskirts of the city. The powerful blast caused panic in the area and partially brought down the house where the incident occurred. Two nearby houses were also damaged due to the impact.
Authorities identified the deceased children as Theeran, aged one-and-a-half, and four-year-old Krishika. Both were inside the house when the cylinder exploded and suffered severe injuries in the blast. Despite efforts to save them, the children later died.
Four others were injured in the incident and are currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. The injured include the children’s parents, Sanjay (31) and Sonia (26), Sonia’s mother Chitra (46), and a seven-year-old neighbour’s child, Pradeep, who was close to the house at the time of the explosion.
Doctors treating the victims said some of the injured suffered burn injuries while others were hurt by debris that fell after the explosion damaged the structure.
According to preliminary findings by the police and the fire department, the blast occurred after a domestic LPG cylinder exploded inside the house. The force of the explosion was strong enough to collapse parts of the building and trap people under the debris.
Local residents said they heard a loud explosion and rushed out of their homes. Several people from the neighbourhood helped pull victims out and alerted emergency services. Teams from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services and local police reached the spot shortly after the incident. Firefighters cleared the debris and helped shift the injured to hospitals for immediate treatment.
Officials have sealed off the affected area while engineers assess the condition of the damaged houses to prevent further danger. Police said a detailed investigation has been launched to determine the exact reason behind the explosion. Early inquiries are looking into the possibility of a gas leak or mishandling of the cylinder before the blast.
(With Inputs from IANS)
