Bihar: Cylinder explodes while cooking Chhath puja prasad; 30 injured
The celebrations of the Chhath festival turned into a tragedy for a family in Aurangabad, Bihar, when a suspected short-circuit caused a cylinder blast, resulting in a massive fire. According to media reports, more than 30 persons were injured in the incident, some of them critically. Seven police officers also received burn injuries while attempting to extinguish the fire, said reports.
What did officials say?
According to police officials, family members of Anil Goswami were preparing prasad for Chhath Puja in the Shahganj neighborhood before daybreak on Sunday when several gas cylinders caught fire. The fire resulted in a gas leak sparking a massive big fire that grew in size despite the best attempts by people to put it out. Following the fire, there was a stampede-like situation.
Eyewitness account and pictures shared on Twitter
Joint operation by police and fire brigade
According to NDTV, the police and fire departments initiated a coordinated operation and dispatched personnel as soon as they received the information about the fire. However, when the cops poured water at the cylinder, a loud cylinder boom badly wounded approximately 30 people. Most of the injured were sent to Aurangabad Sadar Hospital for treatment while some are receiving care in private nursing homes.
Probe begins to ascertain cause of blaze
Meanwhile, a senior police officer ASI Vinay Kumar Singh said they had filed the FIR and started the investigation to ascertain the actual cause of the blaze. He said the police received information about the fire from locals of the area but the fire was turning uncontrollable due to cylinder blasts leading to critical burn injuries.
