Hyderabad: Residents take cover in temples

Hyderabad: Residents of Cherlapally were caught napping as smoke entered their homes. Fearing a mishap, they took to the streets. 

Ashwin Kumar, a resident who stays one kilometre away from the place, said, “I was back from home and eating dinner when our area received an alert for evacuation.”

Adi Narayan, a private sector employee from Habsiguda who was returning home to Cherlapally, remained worried throughout the way as he received the news on social media. “An hour later, my friend called me to tell that my family was safe.” Residents claimed to have heard the explosion sounds and saw cylinders exploding as they ran for cover.  K Avinash, working in a chocolate production unit, said that after returning home from work, he panicked on hearing a loud noise and saw a huge cloud of fire covering the whole area. He added, “I ran back into my house and took out my mother and sister thinking that it was a blast.”

Many residents found shelter in the Kushaiguda bus station and in the nearby temples.

“We are worried about the effect of the smoke and the damage it could have done to our houses. We are not sure how long we have to stay in the bus station,” Mr Sampath said.