9 injured in LPG cylinder blast; 2 serious

Nine members of a family and their relatives, including four children, suffered burns after leak from a gas cylinder led to a fire at a house in Kalyan Nagar in Peenya in the wee hours of Thursday.

The injured are Devaraj (38) a security guard at a private company, his wife Lakshmama (35) and their two children Niranjan (10) and Devika (4), along with five of their relatives Venkatesh (38), Maheswari (33), Alavelu (9), Somashekar (16) and Sangeetha (15). Seven victims are out of danger while Somashekar and Lakshmamma who sustained 70% burns, are in a critical state, said Basavaraj Naik, a family friend.

According to the police, five of Devaraj's and Lakshmamma's relatives from Pavagada including two children (Somashekar and Sangeetha), had come to their house on Wednesday to attend a relative's wedding. They were staying at the Chickanjanappa Building in Kalyan Nagar 4th Main. Somashekar and Sangeetha were writing their SSLC exams and had social science examinations the following day.

On Wednesday night, the family and relatives had dinner and went to sleep while Devaraj left for his night duty. Lakshmamma forgot to switch off the gas regulator after cooking and went to sleep. In the morning around 4.30, when Devaraj returned from work and knocked at the door, Lakshmamma woke up and switched on the light. The spark from the switch ignited the leaked gas. "The room had no ventilation and the cylinder was kept in their bedroom adjacent to the kitchen due to vaastu," Naik said.

Hearing the screams, the neighbours rushed to their help and called for an ambulance. All the victims were shifted to ESI Hospital at Rajajinagar initially after which the women and the seriously injured Somashekar were shifted to Victoria Hospital for treatment. Bagalgunte police visited the spot, conducted inquiries and registered a case.