In an LPG cylinder explosion, the third in a fortnight, one person was killed and three others injured in Kodungaiyur on Tuesday. With this fatality, seven persons had died in the three LPG blazes in the city since September 12.
Police said the LPG cylinder leaked inside the house and sparked off the blaze between 6.30 am and 7 am when Kadhiresan (40), of Muthamizh Nagar in Kodungaiyur, returned home after spending the night at his grocery store.
When he knocked at the door, his house-owner who lived upstairs answered. She reportedly said that she could smell LPG in the entire house and asked Kadhiresan to check his house for any leakage.
The minute she reached upstairs, a loud explosion was heard from downstairs that shook up the neighbourhood..
Kadhiresan, his wife Latha (35), and their sons, Vignesh (12) and Vinod (8), were injured in the explosion and were admitted to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. Latha succumbed to the burns while Kadhiresan who sustained 87 per cent burns was still critical. Vignesh, a class VI student in a private matriculation school, sustained 67 per cent burns while his younger sibling sustained 68 per cent burns.
The impact of the explosion brought down a portion of the concrete railing of the stairway and even charred part of a scooter parked opposite to the entrance of the house.
The House Had No Ventilation
Firefighters assessed the scene and observed that three-fourths of the gas from the cylinder had leaked. The cylinder was supplied on Friday and was used for just a few days. After the blaze, it weighed one-fourths of the total gas filled at the filling station. The house lacked sufficient ventilation.
Pulianthope Police Inspector L Shankar told Express that the gas regulator was not turned off at night. “There was a crack in the tube connecting the regulator and the gas cooker which could have been the cause of the leak,” he added.
Police said there could be three possibilities for the blaze: Kadhiresan could have opened the refrigerator or picked up a call, or either of the two children could have turned on a light.
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