Iron merchant injured in blast in Vijayawada

Police suspect cooking gas leakage might have caused the explosion. Second such incident in Vijayawada in one week.

January 29, 2016 11:59 am | Updated September 23, 2016 04:01 am IST - VIJAYAWADA:

A scrap iron dealer, Reddy Ranga Rao, suffered critical injuries in a blast that occurred in his house at Vijay Nagar Colony, on Pantakaluva Road in the city on Friday.

He was admitted to a private hospital and his condition is stated to be critical. His wife, Shanta Kumari and two other family members escaped unhurt in the mishap. Mr. Rao was in the scrap iron business at Auto Nagar on the city outskirts.

According to the locals, the blast occurred with a big sound at around 6.05 a.m. and the house owner was seen with bleeding injuries. The house was completely damaged in the incident and the furniture and electronic material were scattered due to the impact of the explosion.

Patamata police who rushed to the spot said that the LPG cylinder was intact in the kitchen and no explosive material was found. The clues team and the dog squad which visited the house collected samples from the spot. This was the second such incident in the city in the last five days.

Gas leakage?

Police suspect that cooking gas leakage from the cylinder might have caused the explosion. It was said that Ms. Santha Kumar forgot to turn off the gas regulator and the incident occurred when Ranga Rao tried to lit cigarette with a match stick in the early hours.

“We suspect that the blast occurred due to gas leakage from a commercial gas cylinder, which was in the house. However, police are trying to record statement from the victims and investigate the case in all angles,” City Police Commissioner D. Gautam Sawang said.

Recent blasts

On January 25, an old woman K. Surya Narayanamma, suffered critical injuries as the cooking gas which leaked and packed the house exploded on January 25, at Sorangam Road, at Chittinagar in the city.

Last year, three persons were killed in a cylinder blast that occurred in a three-storyed building in Chittinagar. Officials of the AP State Disaster Response and Fire Services and the private gas agencies conducted awareness programmes at different places on how to prevent gas leakages and explosions then.

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