Bihar: Cylinder explodes while cooking Chhath puja prasad; 30 injured
What's the story
The celebrations of the Chhath festival turned into a tragedy for a family in Aurangabad, Bihar, when a suspected short-circuit caused a cylinder blast, resulting in a massive fire. According to media reports, more than 30 persons were injured in the incident, some of them critically. Seven police officers also received burn injuries while attempting to extinguish the fire, said reports.
Incident
What did officials say?
According to police officials, family members of Anil Goswami were preparing prasad for Chhath Puja in the Shahganj neighborhood before daybreak on Sunday when several gas cylinders caught fire. The fire resulted in a gas leak sparking a massive big fire that grew in size despite the best attempts by people to put it out. Following the fire, there was a stampede-like situation.
Twitter Post
Eyewitness account and pictures shared on Twitter
Aurangabad, Bihar| Injuries reported after fire broke out in a shop y'day, no casualties reported yet
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2022
We were preparing for Chhath puja, my wife was making meals. A sudden fire broke out at my shop after a cylinder there exploded. My family members were injured: Anil, Shopkeeper pic.twitter.com/ej0Dh31qj8
Details
Joint operation by police and fire brigade
According to NDTV, the police and fire departments initiated a coordinated operation and dispatched personnel as soon as they received the information about the fire. However, when the cops poured water at the cylinder, a loud cylinder boom badly wounded approximately 30 people. Most of the injured were sent to Aurangabad Sadar Hospital for treatment while some are receiving care in private nursing homes.
Action
Probe begins to ascertain cause of blaze
Meanwhile, a senior police officer ASI Vinay Kumar Singh said they had filed the FIR and started the investigation to ascertain the actual cause of the blaze. He said the police received information about the fire from locals of the area but the fire was turning uncontrollable due to cylinder blasts leading to critical burn injuries.
Twitter Post
Watch: Video of the blaze site
LIVE : Chhath Puja का Prasad बनाते वक्त Aurangabad में बड़ा हादसा https://t.co/fULUKgSerT
— Bihar Tak (@BiharTakChannel) October 29, 2022