A 29-year-old man rose early on Thursday at his Kankurgachi residence, disturbed by the loud explosion and alarmed by the sight of flames.

Arnav Das, a software professional who resides in a building next to the oxygen cylinder warehouse that was engulfed in flames at Kankurgachi, described his fear and the difficulty he faced as the youngest family member in helping his elderly relatives navigate the stairs to come down from their third-floor apartment.

I was jolted out of my sleep around 2.30am by loud sounds. At first, I thought a truck’s tyre had exploded near our building. However, within minutes, the sound grew louder and more frequent. I realised something was seriously wrong.

I looked out of the window and saw flames rising from the oxygen cylinder warehouse next to our building. Almost immediately, oxygen cylinders began flying through the air like missiles. One of those landed on our terrace.

I woke up my parents and my 81-year-old grandmother, fearing that the flames could spread to our building. I asked my parents to go downstairs first while I helped my grandmother. The vibrations and sound made me feel panicked and confused. I decided that it was safer to leave the building. The stairs that brought us down from our third-floor residence felt considerably more daunting than usual. I managed to support my grandmother in measuring each step and transition.

Each explosion shook the building. The vibration was so strong that our windowpanes began shaking violently. One of the glass panes eventually shattered under the impact.

People from neighbouring buildings rushed out onto the streets in panic. Elderly residents, children and entire families were seen standing outside for hours, unsure whether it was safe to return home.

We stood on the road for around three hours, waiting for things to get normal.

By then, the firefighters and the police had arrived. It was sheer luck that none of us got injured.

I shudder with the thought of what could have happened had any of the cylinders landed on us.

We returned to our apartment after the daylight broke. The only relief was that the extent of damage was limited to a smashed window in our house. I saw that a pipeline in the adjoining building had got damaged.