A powerful explosion triggered by a gas cylinder tore
through a packed restaurant in India on Saturday
killing at least 85 people and wounding
approximately 100 others, police said, in one of the
worst such accidents in the country in recent
memory.
The restaurant building in central Madhya Pradesh
state was being used to illegally store explosives
which detonated in the blast, local authorities said,
vastly amplifying its impact and destroying
neighbouring buildings.
"Initially we heard the sound of (fire) crackers… a
huge explosion took place forcing people to run for
cover," Balram, an injured labourer, told Press Trust
of India (PTI) news agency from the hospital in
Jhabua district.
The blast in the town of Petlawad occurred at around
8:30 am local time (0300 GMT) as many office
workers and schoolchildren were having breakfast in
the restaurant.
Photographs from the scene showed corpses
covered in dust and ash lying in the streets alongside
the twisted wreckage of burned-out vehicles, as
victims described seeing body parts strewn in the
street.
"We have seen them flying and falling on the ground,"
Narsingh, one of the injured told PTI.
Residents reported hearing a small blast followed by
a much larger explosion, an AFP photographer at the
scene said.
Television footage showed scores of people and
rescue workers using their bare hands to shift
mangled heaps of steel and concrete of the ruined
buildings while police cordoned off the area.
Police revised the number of people who died down
to 85 after earlier reporting a higher toll, after
clearing the debris of the destroyed restaurant and
neighbouring structures.
"Earlier we thought it was 104 (people who died)
based on various reports coming to us but now our
own official information says 85 confirmed deaths,"
M. L. Gond, an inspector in charge of Jhabua's police
control room, told AFP.
A local magistrate gave the same toll when contacted
by AFP.
"Total bodies identified and confirmed dead are 85
now," Ashok Jadhav, the local sub-divisional
magistrate, said.
"As for the site, it has been cleared and no more
bodies are there," he said, adding that around 100
others were being treated for their injuries in various
nearby hospitals.
– Explosives stored illegally –
Authorities suspect the intensity of the explosion may
have been compounded by detonators and gelatin
sticks, an explosive material used in mining, being
stored in the restaurant building.
"Initial reports suggest that detonators and
explosives… used for digging wells and for mining
were stored in the room next to the restaurant,
which made the explosion so big," Gond said.
He added that the explosive material was being
stored illegally in the residential area.
Another district police official, Anurag Mishra, cited
the restaurant's proximity to a busy bus stand as a
reason for the high number of casualties.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan took to Twitter to express his sadness at the
loss of life.
"The Jhabua tragedy is heart wrenching. I offer my
condolences to the families of the victims and pray
for the speedy recovery of those injured," Chouhan
said.
He offered compensation of 200,000 rupees ($3,020)
to the families of the dead and 50,000 rupees ($755)
to help the injured victims.
Chouhan has also ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed suit and
conveyed his condolences on the micro-blogging site.
"Extremely pained at the loss of lives due to the
cylinder blast in Jhabua," Modi said.
Domestic gas cylinder explosions are common in
India, where safety standards are relatively poor.
But although reports of fatal accidents from cylinder
blasts are frequent, mass casualties are unusual.
AbleMoJah® Nigeria.
No comments:
Write comments