Three people, including two children, died and 15 suffered burns when a LPG gas cylinder burst at Doranahalli village in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district on Friday.
According to information provided by Superintendent of Police C.B. Vedamurthy, Adhya (3), Ningamma (89) and Mahantesh (15 months old) died in the Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital in Kalaburagi.
Earlier, the injured were referred to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Science (GIMS) and Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital in Kalaburagi for further treatment after they were provided preliminary treatment at the Taluk Hospital in Shahapur.
Now, the condition of eight of the injured is stated to be critical.
According to sources, the incident occurred at around 2 p.m. at a family programme (baby shower). Immediately after the incident, the injured were shifted to the taluk hospital and a private hospital as well.
“We saw fire breaking out after the cylinder burst and many who were close to the place where food was being prepared suffered burns. It happened suddenly and everybody was in shock after flames leaped out from the cylinder. We and our relatives had gathered for the baby shower programme. But, all of a sudden it turned into a tragedy,” a man who was present and escaped unhurt told presspersons.
Upon receiving information, personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the spot and doused the flames.
The taluk hospital authorities gave the names of the injured who have been referred to Kalaburagi as follows: Jyothi, Suresh, Naganna, Bhimarai, Karnayya, Sanjana Gowda, Gurulingamma, Basavaraj, Sharada, Chennappa, Erappa, Channaveera, Eranna, Sumangala and Gangamma.
The incident sent shock waves among those attending the programme and relatives of the family. They all then rushed to hospital and started crying after seeing the situation there. Doctors in the Shahapur Taluk Hospital provided preliminary treatment to the injured persons and immediately sent them to Kalaburagi in ambulances.
Member of Legislative Assembly Venkatareddy Mudnal, Deputy Commissioner R. Ragapriya and Superintendent of Police C.B. Vedamurthy rushed to the spot and inspected the area where the incident occurred. They also visited the hospital where the injured are getting treatment.
Dr. Ragapriya told The Hindu over phone that all the injured people have been shifted to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and the Basaveshwar General Hospital for further treatment. A few among the injured have suffered more than 80% burns. “We are in touch with GIMS and Basaveshwar Hospital authorities also. The district administration will take all appropriate action to provide them better and immediate treatment in Kalaburagi,” she added.
