4 injured in LPG cylinder blast at Sion

An eight-year-old girl suffered serious injuries after an LPG cylinder exploded at Rawali Camp in the Sion-Koliwada area on Wednesday. Three other people were also injured in the incident.

The injured - two men, one woman and one child - have been admitted to Sion hospital in Mumbai. They have been identified as Indu Tawar (8), Sundari Tawar (34), Nambi Rajan (46) and Bhagwanlal Shewale (40).

The dean of Sion Hospital, Dr Suleman Merchant, said: "A patient from Koliwada came to us around 6.30 am. We have four patients in total, of who one is a small girl with 80-90 per cent burns. The rest are all fine and being treated. The cause of the injuries is said to be an LPG cylinder explosion, but that is still under investigation."

Meanwhile, speaking to The Asian Age, Nambi Rajan, who suffered 5-10 per cent burns, said: "I had made idlis and was preparing for the day when suddenly there was a rush outside, which I got to know was because of a cylinder blast. As it was in the morning, there was a stove on in every house. There was a family preparing mithai next to my house and their stove was also on. My house and other houses nearby caught fire."

A fire official said, "We suspect that the gas had leaked since the nozzle of that gas cylinder was loose. The gas spread all over the house and there was a stove that was on. We are still investigating the exact cause of this blast."

After visiting the burn ward where her daughter is admitted, Sundari Tawar, the mother of critically-injured Indu Tawar, said, "After I saw the flames, I hugged my daughter to save her. But my face and hands got burnt and since the fire was coming from the middle, a major portion of my daughter's body got burnt as well."

The residential structure, which was damaged completely in the fire, housed three families. A team of disaster management personnel and firemen, apart from policemen, had rushed to the spot after the incident.