Police personnel spray water on the cylinder. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Nov. 9: Twelve persons were injured last night when a helium gas cylinder exploded on the Kalinga Bali yatra ground off the Paradip port township.

“The cylinder burst on Saturday at 11.30pm. Though it was late, there was a large number of people, including many women and children. The blast took place with a deafening sound and panic-stricken people ran helter-skelter. Most people had no clue what had happened,” said Bichitrananda Samal, inspector of Paradip police station.

Over 50 persons suffered minor injuries and bruises in the stampede that followed the explosion. The cylinder went off when a vendor was trying to inflate balloons.

The injured were admitted to a government hospital in Paradip. Seven of the critically injured have been shifted to SCB Medical and College in Cuttack. The injured in the blast have been identified as Adarsh Chaudhry, 13, Nilesh Swain, 16, Hemanta Moharana, 32, Soura Samal, 28, Jagabandhu Sahoo, 19, Tutu Samal, 19, Babula Mallick, 10, Rajendra Sethi, 23, Arupananda Tarei, 23, Pintu Swain, 12, Sachikanta Behera, 28, and the gas balloon seller Nirupati Garaveer, said the police.

The police have taken suo moto cognisance of the incident and have registered a case. “We are investigating how these helium gas cylinders were allowed inside the fair ground since these are banned,” said a police official.

Incidentally, the annual fair to mark the maritime history of the state is being organised under the patronage of the Paradip administration.

“I was at the fair ground with my family. We were about 50 feet from the blast spot. We all ran for cover and I was under the impression that some terror outfit had triggered a bomb blast. Many more could have been injured had the blast occurred in the evening when the fair ground was jam-packed. The crowd had considerably thinned down when the cylinder had exploded,” said Dipti Prakash Pattnaik, a visitor to the fair.

“The incident occurred when a vendor was inflating balloons with gas. The right palm of a 12-year-old boy, Pintu Swain, of Paradip was blown off from his body. Soon, local people rushed to the area, rescued the critically injured persons and admitted them to a nearby government hospital,” said an eyewitness, Ranjan Mahapatra.