Six family members die in Kanpur cylinder blast

Kanpur, Dec.19 (ANI): Six persons died due to a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder blast in a house here over the weekend.

The blast occurred when the wife of Ramshabad Sharma was preparing tea in the kitchen.

All six members except Sharma, who went out of the house in the morning, were burnt alive as the roof made of the plastic sheets caught fire.

"This is the family of Ramshabad. We heard the news around 7:30 in the morning that the fire has occurred due the cylinder leakage. Local people also came at the site and tried to help. Fire service also reached there," said Niharika Sharma, Circle Inspector, Kanpur.

"The door was closed from inside which was covered by a plastic canopy acting as the roof which was also tied up with the bamboo sticks. This fire has occurred on the top of it due to which canopy has fallen down. It seems like that canopy had fallen on the six persons due to which they have died. This included 24 year old boy, three women and two children," she added.

The neighbours who gathered around the house tried to douse the fire but could not do much as the door was locked from inside.

"We had tried a lot, but the door was closed and the cylinder was placed next to the door. The door was closed from inside and the door was also burning. Local people tried all what they could have done," said Pavan Gupta, a neighbour.

Sharma has lost his wife, his son, two daughters and two grandchildren in the accident.

All the bodies have been taken to the hospital for the post mortem. By Dilip Mishra (ANI)