Vijayawada: The residents of Patamata and Gurunanak Nagar on Friday woke up to the loud noise of a blast as a commercial LPG cylinder exploded in the house of a scrap merchant. The explosion left the house owner critically injured and two neighbours with minor injuries.
The incident occurred when one Reddy Ranga Rao, the house owner, tried to light cigarette soon after waking up. Sound of the blast, which occurred at 6.05 am, could be heard up to several kilometres.
The explosion left the house completely damaged with the front doors and windows blown away up to 30 feet. All window glasses in the house and neighbouring houses were broken and the compound wall was dismounted. Everything took place in a few seconds, locals said.
Police inspected the spot and came to the conclusion that the mishap was due to leakage of gas from commercial LPG cylinder. “Gas was leaked from the commercial cylinder. This caused the blast when the house owner attempted to light cigarette,” said DCP (L&O) L.K.V. Ranga Rao who visited the spot.
“No explosive substances were found in the house. About 6.5 kilograms of gas was leaked from the cylinder. Mr Reddy has the habit of smoking after waking up. He woke up, came to the hall and lit the cigarette and this blew up the house. The gas did not enter the bedroom where he slept and this could be the reason no body noticed the smell of gas,” said Patamata SI K. Mohan Rao.
Reddy’s wife Santa Kumari, who was in the bedroom, escaped unhurt. Two others in the neighborhood sustained minor injuries as the glasses shattered.
“We heard a huge sound and thought our ceiling fan was falling down. The window glasses in our home broke suddenly, giving us a harrowing experience for a while,” said Ms L. Suseela, who lives in the rented portion of ground floor in Reddy’s house.
At first police and locals suspected explosion of gelatin sticks or fire crackers as Reddy had traded them earlier. The injured house owner is undergoing treatment in a private hospital and his condition is said to be critical.In a similar incident, K. Suryanarayanamma, 65, of Chittinagar sustained injuries and her house was badly damaged when a gas cylinder was exploded.
It may be recalled that last year on January 20, three persons— K. Ramana, 45, his wife K. Nirmala, 40, and Kondeti Ramanamma, 65, were killed after a gas cylinder exploded at their house in K.L. Rao Nagar.
