New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The death toll in the explosion of a CNG cylinder of a truck in Delhi has reached three after officials confirmed that one more person has died. All the deceased are employees of the fuel station.
The CNG cylinder of the truck exploded at the fuel station near Tikri Kalan Metro Station in the Outer Delhi area on Wednesday while it was being filled, the officials said.
Six people were injured in the incident, the Delhi Police said.
One of the deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Manish, a resident of West Delhi’s Baba Haridas Colony. According to the officials, he was filling the gas in the CNG cylinder of the truck. The other deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Sunny Nizampur.
The identity of the third person killed in the incident is unknown. However, the police confirmed that all are employees of the CNG pump.
The officials said that the death toll is expected to rise.
According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the six injured persons are in critical condition. The officials said that they were seen standing nearby when the explosion occurred and sustained injuries.
The DFS said that it received a call about the blast at around 3:37 p.m., following which six fire tenders were dispatched to the incident site.
As soon as the information regarding the blast was received, large teams of police and fire personnel were deployed in the area. The injured were subsequently shifted to the nearest hospital.
According to the officials, the exact cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained.
“An investigation is underway to identify what led to the explosion,” a fire service official stated.
The officials stated that the explosion triggered panic in the area. Following this, the fire service personnel carried out all the required precautionary measures at the spot.
The public is being asked to avoid the area as the investigation remains ongoing.
The situation is currently under control, the officials further mentioned.
They added that further details regarding the blast and the hospitalised people are awaited.
–IANS
sd/uk
