Cylinder blast in Tura leaves 8 injured, 1 critical

Tura, Mar 20: 8 persons were injured after a cylinder blast off a short circuit in a crowded section of the town of Tura this morning.The incident occurred at about 7:20 this morning at Beldarpara locality near the Tura Bazar area, with one of the victims rushed to NEMCARE Hospital for further treatment after part of his back and back of the head were severely burnt.

According to police, the fire was caused after an immersion rod short circuited leading to sparks. The sparks then caught on to the clothes that were hanging nearby after which the LPG cylinder that was close by blasted. “The area is crowded and was one of the reasons for the incident. One person, Nitish Ghosh (18) was severely injured in the blast and has been referred. The other 7 victims suffered minor injuries and are being treated in the Tura Civil Hospital,” said West Garo Hills SP, Dr MGR Kumar.

The injured have been identified as Madhu Sudan Adhikari (57), Benoy Adhikari (25), Prosan Lohar (34), Mojar Hajong (18), Lalsing Pui (49) and Arup Pal (47). The other victims were reportedly injured when they tried to put out the fire with F&ES quickly rushing to the spot to douse the fire.

“The fire was controlled quickly as the F&ES is close by. No fire tenderers were injured in putting out the fire though people who tried to douse the fire on their own suffered burn injuries,” added Dr Kumar. Quick work by locals, who immediately rushed the victims to the TCH ensured the they were provided early treatment.