Hamirpur (HP), Feb 17 (PTI) Three persons sustained serious burn injuries following an LPG cylinder explosion inside a shop in Bhota town of Himachal’s Hamirpur district on Tuesday morning, police said.
According to the eyewitness, Purushottam Chand arrived at his sweet shop to open it around 5 am. As he approached the shutter and looked inside, he saw flames rising from within and a thick cloud of smoke.
He immediately tried to open the shutter of the shop, but the extreme heat made it difficult. Hearing the noise, Kamlesh Kumar, who runs a grocery store nearby and Rakesh Kumar, a milk supplier, rushed to the scene.
Together, all three of them tried to lift the shutter, but suddenly, a gas cylinder kept inside the shop exploded. The explosion shook the surrounding area, said Kamlesh Kumar, one of the three injured.
Fierce flames erupted, engulfing all three of them, and Purushottam Chand suffered approximately 70 per cent burns with serious injuries on the face and legs. Kamlesh and Rakesh, too, sustained injuries in the incident.
A large crowd gathered at the scene and immediately rushed the three to the medical college. After first aid, doctors referred Purushottam Chand to AIIMS Bilaspur due to his critical condition.
The cylinder explosion caused significant damage to the shop.
Confirming the incident, Hamirpur Superintendent of police (SP) Balbir Singh said that the police were investigating the cause of the fire. PTI COR BPL AMJ AMJ
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