Bhubaneswar, Dec. 30: One person was killed when an LPG cylinder exploded in a government quarters in OUAT Colony here this morning.
The incident also left four others injured. Two of them were rushed to hospitals in critical condition.
The deceased, Subasini, 50, was the wife of Chandramani Nayak, 57, a senior technician in the College of Engineering and Technology. The entire family was present in the house when the blast occurred around 11.30am.
Most of the family members ran out of the house as smoke started billowing from the kitchen.
"As fire broke out in the kitchen, our great grandmother (Chandramani's mother) asked us to leave the house immediately and she also did the same. However, other members of our family remained in the kitchen, trying to douse the flames," said Chandramani's nine-year-old granddaughter.
Police said that Chandramani, his wife and son-in-law Saroj Kumar Lenka, 38, tried to douse the fire with the help of two neighbours, Sadashiv and Prakash.
"But they failed despite trying hard for nearly 10 minutes. All of a sudden, the cylinder exploded, causing Subasini's death on the spot. The other four also sustained injuries," said a police officer.
Lenka, with his one leg torn off below the knee, was immediately rushed to a private hospital while the other three, including Chandramani, were rushed to Capital Hospital.
The condition of Lenka and Sadashiv are critical, the police said.
Neighbours said that the impact of the explosion was so severe that tremors were felt even in houses that were located 50 metres away.
"Heavy smoke was coming out of the house and we immediately informed the police and fire officials," said a neighbour.
The fire officials struggled for an hour to douse the flames. They had to cut through iron grills of the house to rescue the injured.
Inspector in-charge of Khandagiri police station Sarat Sahu said they had registered a case of unnatural death.
"Preliminary investigation reveals that the fire was caused due to leakage of cooking gas. Further investigation is on," said Sahu.
