Uttar Pradesh: Eight killed in cylinder blast in Gonda, 2 houses wrecked

LUCKNOW: At least eight persons were killed and seven others injured in Gonda late Tuesday after a cylinder blew up triggering a mammoth explosion that reduced two buildings to rubble.
SP, Gonda, Santosh Mishra said the injured were shifted to hospital in a swift rescue operation minutes after UP 112 received an SOS call. At least 15 people were trapped in the debris after the blast brought down the roof, wrecked the house and damaged an adjoining building.“Eight people were killed in the blast and most of them died in sleep,” he said. Forensic teams collected samples from the site to decipher the nature of blast, the officer said. The house owner, Nurul Hasan, 60, who survived the blast, told police that a cooking cylinder had exploded when he was asleep. “We deployed two teams to investigate cause and nature of blast. Survivors will be questioned after they come out of shock and funerals are over,” he said.
A police officer said, the deceased and injured are part of the extended family. “During the rescue operation, the dead and injured had to be extricated from the debris with three JCB machines,” said the officer. The deceased were identified as Nisar, 35, Rubina, 32, Shamshad, 28, Meraz, 11, Sarunisha, 35, Noori, 12, Shoeb,2, and Shahbaz,14.