Teen boy dead as LPG cylinder explodes in Pune apartment, fire-fighters among 8 injured

Pune City’s chief fire officer Devendra Potphode said, “We received a call about a fire around 2.45 pm in a residential apartment on the 12th floor. Five fire tenders were pressed into action. Since the power was cut off and the lift was not functioning, the firefighters reached the apartment by stairs.

After the team entered the apartment, a cooking gas cylinder exploded in the kitchen which was located next to the entry door. Two firefighters and multiple other residents present in the flat were injured in this blast.”

The situation is currently under control, and cooling operations are underway, he added. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)

Potphode added, “The fire had spread across the flat. The fire was brought under control. As a search of the apartment was conducted, a 15-year-old boy was found dead in the bedroom of the apartment. Primary observations suggest that the building has a very good fire fighting system in place but it was not operational at the time. The incident highlights the importance of residential and commercial buildings ensuring that their in house fire fighting mechanisms are always functional.”

Police have identified the injured boy as Tarsh Kamal Khetan (15). The injured residents and building staff who had joined the firefighting effort have been identified as Mrunal Mayank (42), Yogesh Jadhav (45), Zeeshan Khan (35), Vinod Limkar (32), Rahul Sharma and Naresh Devdikar. The injured firefighters are Prithviraj Khedekar and Vishwajeet Wagh.

Inspector Mansingh Patil of Kalepadal police station said, “Those injured in cylinder blast are residential society office bearers, residents of neighbouring flats and security staff. We have been told that a short circuit could be the cause of the fire. A probe is underway.”