KOCHI: One worker died and four others suffered grievous burn injuries in a massive steam boiler explosion at an eatery in Kaloor, Kochi, on Thursday evening. The deceased has been identified as Sumith, a native of West Bengal. The injured persons are also migrant workers. There were only a few customers at food outlet at the time of the accident, and they managed to escape unhurt.
One of the injured, Kai Min Lun, 30, who suffered 90% burns is on ventilator support at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery. Two others, Anish, 19, and Kiran, 16, have also been admitted to the MCH. Another employee, Ehiya Ahmed, 24, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Fire and rescue services officials said they received an alert around 4.25 pm about a suspected gas cylinder explosion in the kitchen of i’Deli Cafe, a popular eatery located in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex in Kaloor. “On reaching the spot, we realised that it was not a gas cylinder but a steam boiler that exploded due to excessive pressure.
The deceased person was found inside the cafe with severe burns and injuries to his head. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, but was declared dead on arrival,” said an officer. “The customers were on the open-air seats outside the eatery and they managed to escape unhurt,” the officer said.
Alice, an eyewitness, said the explosion occurred just as she and her colleagues were approaching the shop for tea. “We heard a deafening explosion and rushed to the spot.
Two employees of the cafe managed to run out of the outlet with minor injuries. However, another employee, who suffered severe burns, struggled to get out. We egged him on to save himself, and he finally emerged out. We couldn’t even touch him because of the burns. Moments later, we found another severely injured employee near the steam boiler. He had suffered severe burns.
The fire and rescue team, along with the police, used a table to carefully move him out,” she said.
The Palarivattom police have registered a case against the owner of the cafe. “A detailed inspection by both the police and the fire and rescue services team will be conducted at the site,” said an officer.
Muhammed Sulaiman, one of the first responders, said: “The shop has been operating for over six months and is one of the busiest eateries in the area. Many of the staff are migrant workers, mostly from Nagaland and West Bengal,” he said.