Kochi: LPG cylinder explodes, close shave for family

Kochi: A family had a narrow escape on Friday when an LPG cylinder kept in the shed near the house in Cheranelloor exploded, causing damage to the building. Luckily, the family members had gone out of the house located at Ward 13, Edayakunnu, when the cylinder exploded at 10. 55 am.

“Vijayan of Kanavallipadam and his family had gone out for work 10 minutes before the incident. The spare cylinder was kept in a small shed just outside the house. Rice was cooked using wood and coconut shells and the flames had not fully died down when the family left. The wind from the nearby field might have fanned the flames, resulting in the fire. Then it might have spread to the logs kept aside and resulted in the gas cylinder explosion,” said an officer of the Eloor Fire Force.

A crack was formed in the wall of the house and the window panes got smashed in the impact. The fire engulfed the foam bed, files, books, clothes and other materials kept in one of the adjacent rooms. A two metre-deep pit was formed in the room where the cylinder was kept.

Neighbours rushed to the scene hearing the explosion and alerted the Eloor Fire Force who doused the flames quickly. “The primary probe indicates that the flame from the burned logs resulted in the explosion. As per the initial assessment, the damage is estimated to be over '1lakh,” a senior Fire Force officer said.