Hamirpur (HP), February 17 Three people sustained serious burn injuries following an LPG cylinder explosion inside a shop in the town of Bhota in the Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday morning, police said.
According to eyewitness Purushottam Chand, he arrived at his sweet shop around 5 am to open it. As he approached the shop and looked inside, he saw flames rising from within and a thick cloud of smoke.
He immediately tried to open the shop's shutter, but the extreme heat made it difficult. Hearing the noise, Kamlesh Kumar, who runs a nearby grocery store, and Rakesh Kumar, a milk supplier, rushed to the scene.
Together, all three of them tried to lift the shutter, but suddenly, a gas cylinder kept inside the shop exploded. The explosion shook the surrounding area, said Kamlesh Kumar, one of the three injured.
Intense flames erupted, engulfing all three of them, and Purushottam Chand suffered approximately 70 per cent burns with serious injuries to his face and legs. Kamlesh and Rakesh also sustained injuries in the incident.
A large crowd gathered at the scene and immediately rushed the three to the medical college. After first aid, doctors referred Purushottam Chand to AIIMS Bilaspur due to his critical condition.
The cylinder explosion caused significant damage to the shop.
Confirming the incident, Hamirpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Balbir Singh said that the police were investigating the cause of the fire.