LUCKNOW: At least 12 persons, including 11 women, feared dead and several others were left injured after a two-storey building turned into rubble following a cylinder blast in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh. Scores are still feared trapped under the debris.
The incident took place early on Monday morning in Waleedpur village under Mohammadabad Police Station in Mau in Gorakhpur division in eastern UP. Teams of police and fire-brigade were rushed to the spot and rescue operations under the supervision of DM and SSP were underway. Even a team of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) led by Deputy SP Ahsanullah Khan had reached the spot to speed up rescue operation.
However, as per the police sources, with a few injured remaining critical, the toll may further go up. As per the initial information, during the cooking in the house of one Chhotu Vishwakarma, the cooking gas cylinder exploded and the blast was so powerful that the entire building came down crashing to the ground. Even the adjoining four houses were damaged and many others received cracks due to the blast. As the blast happened in the cooking gas cylinder, the major brunt was carried by the women of the house as they were involved in cooking.
While seven bodies were already recovered, five of those 14 injured sent to hospital succumbed during the treatment. On the other, over two dozen people are feared trapped under the rubble.
Taking cognizance of the incident, CM Yogi Adityanath expressed his condolences to bereaved families. He also directed the local authorities, including district magistrate, superintendent of police and other officers to immediately provide all possible relief and medical help to the injured.
Meanwhile, to probe into the powerful blast, a dog squad, bomb disposal squad and forensic team of experts had also reached the site of blast. Even to rule out the security concerns, a team of Anti-Terror Squad also reached the blast site.