One person was killed and seven others were injured when an LPG cylinder exploded in a flat and led to the collapse of a common wall separating two apartments in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday, the police said.
The blast took place in the flat belonging to Surwade family at a housing society in Dighi area, but a person from Temkar family, residing in the adjoining apartment, died after the wall separating the two houses collapsed due to the impact of the blast. Police suspect the gas was leaking from the cylinder overnight.
“The explosion took place at 7.30 a.m. on Sunday, when Archana Surwade turned on an electric switch in her house. The explosion was so powerful that the common wall between the flats of Surwades and Temkars collapsed,” said senior police inspector Vivek Lawand of Dighi police station.
When the wall collapsed, Dnyaneshwar Temkar got trapped under the debris and died on the spot. His eight-year-old daughter also sustained injuries. Ms. Surwade was seriously injured and suffered around 80% burns. Five other members of her family also sustained injuries, Mr. Lawand said.
“Prima facie, it seems the liquefied petroleum gas leaked from the cylinder and caused an explosion the moment the electric switch was turned on,” he said.
