Five persons, including two children, sustained burns in a suspected LGP cylinder blast in a house at Rajarajeshwarinagar around 7.30 a.m. on Tuesday. The impact of the blast was such that the concrete ceiling collapsed.
The injured are Mahantesh (34), his wife Sumana Bai (28), his daughter Monica (4), two-year-old son Harshith and brother-in-law Gajendra Nayak. According to the police, Gajendra teaches in an educational institution in Davangere. He was on a visit to the city and had been staying with the family for two days. Mahantesh is an employee of a farm house.
Neighbours, who were woken up by the sound, rescued the victims from the rubble. The injured are undergoing treatment in Victoria hospital.
Sumana Bai and Harshith were treated in the out-patient department.
Monica and Mahantesh suffered less than 30 per cent burns.
Gajendra’s health condition is bad as he suffered 63 per cent burns. Along with Monica, he was sleeping in the hall which is closer to the kitchen.
Mahantesh, Sumana Bai and Harshith were sleeping in another room.
Smitha Segu, in-charge of the burns ward, said doctors were providing the patients with supportive treatment after which they will reassess the wounds and decide on the type of treatment needed.
Preliminary enquiries by the Rajarajeshwarinagar police indicated that gas had leaked from the hose pipe. The house did not have proper ventilation. They suspect that an electric spark may have caused the gas to explode. A team of experts from the petroleum industry visited the spot to ascertain the exact reason for the blast.
