At least five people, including a woman and two children, lost their lives in a tragic cylinder explosion in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on Monday evening. The blast caused a portion of the house to collapse, and authorities fear that several individuals may still be trapped beneath the debris.
The incident occurred between 8:30 and 9:00 pm in the Sikandrabad area, according to local police reports. Additional Director General of Police for Meerut Zone, Dhruva Kant Thakur, confirmed the fatalities and said rescue efforts were underway to locate those trapped.
“We have received information that five people have died, and some others are trapped under the debris following a cylinder explosion in a colony in the Sikandrabad area,” Thakur stated, as quoted by the PTI news agency.
#UPDATE | Chandra Prakash Paryadarshi, City Magistrate Bulandshahr says, ” Total 6 bodies have come here in the district hospital for post-mortem, 3 male bodies and 3 female bodies. These are the victims of the Sikandrabad tragedy. I can’t exactly say the total number of… https://t.co/3IKi4drXve pic.twitter.com/mWzC891fxp
— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2024
Bulandshahr District Magistrate, Chandra Prakash Singh, revealed that there were around 18 to 19 people present in the house when the explosion took place. So far, eight individuals have been rescued and taken to the hospital, with some reported to be in critical condition. “Several of the injured are in a very serious condition,” Singh noted.
This incident follows a similar tragedy last month in Firozabad, where five people were killed, and ten others injured after an explosion at a firecracker factory led to a house collapse.
Rescue operations in Bulandshahr are ongoing as officials work to clear the debris and ensure no one remains trapped. The local administration has assured further assistance for the affected families.
