Hyderabad, Apr 12 (PTI) Three persons died and five others suffered injuries in a fire accident near the venue of a meeting of the ruling BRS at a village in Khammam district of Telangana on Wednesday.
Firecrackers were burst on the occasion of the meeting and one of them is thought to have fallen on a small hut near the meeting venue, police said.
The fire at the hut was doused by those who were present there but a gas cylinder inside went unnoticed. The cylinder exploded and fragments that emerged out of the blast injured those at the spot.
Eight persons were badly wounded, out of which three succumbed to their injuries, police said.
While two of them died earlier in the day, an injured man breathed his last while being shifted to Hyderabad for better treatment.
A doctor said both legs of another injured man had to be amputated during treatment.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed grief over the tragic incident. Soon after coming to know that two persons had died and many others were seriously injured in the cylinder blast at the ‘BRS Atmeeya Sammelanam’ (cordial gathering), Rao called Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar who is from Khammam district and MP Nama Nageshwar Rao, who was present at the accident spot, on the phone and enquired about the details. The Chief Minister assured all assistance and support to the bereaved families of the deceased, an official release said.
Ajay Kumar announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs two lakh to those injured. The injured will be treated free of cost. The deceased and the injured include some BRS activists and a policeman. Nageshwar Rao, who expressed anguish over the incident, announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured on behalf of a charitable trust run by him.
BRS MLC Tata Madhusudhan urged party leaders and activists to observe mourning for the next three days in view of the demise of party workers in the tragedy. He said the ongoing party meetings in the district stood cancelled temporarily. PTI SJR SJR SJR ANE
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