Two people died and three suffered burns after leaking LPG caught fire in a house in Belagavi on Monday.
The names of the dead were given as 80-year-old Kamakshi Bhat and 27-year-old Hemant Bhat of Basavana Galli. They suffered over 60% burns, the police said.
The injured family members, Lalita Bhat, Gopal Krishna and Mohan Bhat, are being treated in the burns ward of KLE Prabhakar Kore Hospital.
All of the three are said to be critical.
Hemanth Bhat was a marketing executive with a private company. His father runs a travel agency.
Originally from Udupi, they settled down in Belagavi over three decades ago.
Meanwhile, the District Fire Officer told the police that the gas spread from a loose LPG regulator and caught fire.
The family had removed the regulator to wash the gas stove. When they tried to fit it again, it could not fit tight. Gas began leaking from the regulator nozzle as it was loose, it was said.
Mohan Bhat went down a floor to seek help from a family friend. When he came back, the gas had spread to all the rooms in the house, it was said.
A small lamp in the puja room seems to have caused the fire, said a police officer.
All the five people suffered burns.
Mohan Bhat received the least amount of burns as he was the last person to go into the house, said the police officer.
Earlier, the police had thought that a spark from a switch connected to a pumpset had caused the fire.
A case has been registered at the Khade Bazaar Police Station.
