Kamrup: Thirteen people, including brick kiln workers and their family members, were injured in a powerful LPG cylinder explosion on Thursday how in Assam’s Kamrup district, police said. Two of the victims identified are a two-year-old child as well as a woman who is in critical condition and being treated at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Most of the injured sustained severe burn wounds.
Local residents claim the explosion happened as many labourers were asleep in their tents. “We heard a loud blast and rushed to the scene.” Badly injured were several people, women included. However, an eyewitness said, “We told the police immediately.”
Emergency responders and police arrived at the scene after the incident, and the injured were transported to a nearby hospital at first. However, 13 of them were later transferred to GMCH, another location, which was at least 50 Km away, for further treatment. It was confirmed that about 16 of the people were taken to the local health facility, though some of those with minor injuries were discharged after being administered first aid.
Still, the cause of the explosion remains under investigation. However, initially, some individuals claimed they were cooking when the LPG cylinder exploded, resulting in a devastating fire and injuries. It was not clear whether the blast was caused by a gas leak or faulty equipment.
This tragic incident has also put into perspective that not only are temporary shelters often unsafe as they do not have the basic cooking facilities or fire safety measures, but that these shelters can also pose serious risk to the livelihoods of the workers who reside in them. The situation is now being assessed by police and district officials who could decide to take steps to stop such accidents from happening again.
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