HUBBALLI: Two Ayyappa devotees, who sustained critical injuries in a cylinder explosion at the Eshwar Temple in Sai Nagar, succumbed to their injuries on Thursday morning at KIMS Hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Nijalingappa Mallappa Bepoor (58) and Sanjay Prakash Savdatti (17).
The incident occurred on Monday when a gas leak from a cylinder led to a fire, leaving nine devotees severely injured. All the injured were admitted to KIMS Hospital, where they were undergoing treatment for severe burn injuries. Despite the efforts of medical teams, two of them could not be saved.
On Wednesday, a team of expert doctors from Bengaluru, including plastic surgeons Dr. K.T. Ramesh from Victoria Hospital and Dr. M. Shankrappa from BMCRI, visited the hospital to oversee the treatment of the injured devotees. They provided guidance on necessary medical procedures and dietary recommendations.
According to hospital authorities, eight of the nine injured devotees had sustained extensive burns, which complicated their recovery.
Following the incident, Home Minister G. Parameshwara and District In-charge Minister Santosh Lad visited the victims at the hospital.
Preparations are underway for the last rites of both Nijalingappa Mallappa Bepoor and Sanjay Prakash Savdatti.