OVER 50 people including 5-7 policemen got injured after a short circuit in Bihar’s Aurangabad led to a massive fire causing an LPG cylinder and refrigerator blast.
Of the total, at least 10-12 people are in critical condition and all the injured have been hospitalised. The mishap took place when members of a family in the Shahganj Teli locality were preparing Prasad for Chhath Puja in the wee hours of Saturday.
The incident took place when family members of Anil Kumar were engaged in Chhath Puja preparations before dawn on Saturday when a short circuit ignited a fire. The fire spread to the area where LPG cylinders were kept. The police and fire brigade team after receiving the information rushed to the spot and tried to extinguish the massive blaze.
“There was Chhat Puja at my place for which my wife was preparing food and that was when we realised that the shop had caught fire and everybody started running here and there. Amidst this, a cylinder exploded and all of us, including my son, got injured,” Anil Kumar, as quoted by ANI, said.
However, despite all efforts by the locals and the fire brigade team, the blaze intensified causing a massive cylinder blast injuring over 40 people. The injured also include the police personnel who were engaged in the dousing operations. All the injured were rushed to the Aurangabad Sadar Hospital and a private nursing home for treatment.
“A police team and fire brigade personnel reached the site soon. Five police personnel, including a woman constable, sustained injuries in the firefighting operations,” sub-inspector in-charge of Town police station Vinay Kumar Singh said.
