Death toll in Bulandshahr cylinder blast rises to 7; rescue ops continue

The blast was so powerful that the house in Sikandrabad of Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district was reduced to rubble.

Chandra Prakash Singh, District Magistrate, Bulandshahr, said their priority is to rescue all those trapped in the debris and ensure immediate medical help to them. (PTI Photo)

The death toll in an oxygen cylinder blast in a two-storey house in Sikandrabad of Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district late on Monday mounted to seven after a man succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday even as the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) and local teams continued their rescue operation.

Officials said the blast was so powerful that the house, which had 24 occupants, was reduced to rubble at around 8 pm Monday. While Rajjudin, 58, his wife Rukhsana, 45, their sons Aas Mohammed, 26, and Salman, 11, their daughter Tamanna, 24, and granddaughter Hijja, 3, were killed on Monday night, their other son, Shahrukh, 23, died on Tuesday. They were buried Tuesday afternoon.

Rizwan Mohammed, the son-in-law of the deceased couple, said his wife Tamanna had been living with her parents for the last two days. “She was nine-month pregnant and our minor daughter too lost her life in the incident,” he said.

Renu Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sikandrabad, said 13 people, including two women and a minor girl, were rushed to the hospital where six of them died on Monday. “Some of them in serious condition while those with minor injuries have been discharged after primary treatment. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed shock over the incident and directed officials in Bulandshahr to speed up the rescue mission and also to ensure proper medical treatment to those in the hospital,” said Singh.

Chandra Prakash Singh, District Magistrate, Bulandshahr, said their priority is to rescue all those trapped in the debris and ensure immediate medical help to them. “The rescue work is likely to continue till late night today. What caused the blast will be known after the inquiry but our primary probe suggested that the oxygen cylinder was mishandled, causing the blast,” said Singh.

Shlok Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said Rijjudin’s wife Rukhsana was admitted to the hospital following a complaint of breathlessness for the last few days. She was released Monday evening but her condition deteriorated soon after she reached home. “The family members soon arranged an oxygen cylinder to provide her relief but it exploded somehow as a result the house collapsed,” said Kumar.

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