Massive explosion at a restaurant in Jubilee Hills spreads fear

 Hyderabad: Panic struck the surroundings following a pre-dawn explosion of cooking gas in the kitchen on the first floor of Telangana Spice Kitchen on Road No. 1, Jubilee Hills on Sunday. Police said a 40-kilogram commercial LPG cylinder exploded at 4.55 am in the building located near Durga Bhavaninagar.

Those living in kacha houses adjacent to the building said that it a terrifying experience. Five persons, who were living in the open plot adjacent to the building, escaped with minor injuries. Five two-wheelers, two private buses and the building compound wall were damaged.

“We were fast asleep when concrete pieces fell on our huts, which collapsed. I suffered injuries on my forehead and arms but my children are safe,” said M. Pooja, 30, a worker who along with other five families, lives in the adjacent vacant plot.

Two fire tenders and three Clues teams of the police went to the scene after being alerted by locals from Indiranagar.

The explosion was caused by a leakage of LPG from the cylinder pipe’s pipe. The regulator knob was on and a spark from the automatic tripper switch of a deep freezer compressor placed in the kitchen triggered the explosion of the leaking gas, a Clues team in-charge officer told Deccan Chronicle.

The five partners of Telangana Spice Kitchen, where the blast occurred, include Rajendra Rao, Pranith Rao, Uday Krishna, Vikas and M. Praveen, while the kitchen in-charge is G. Shiva, said ACP Panakanti Venkatagiri.

“We registered cases against the management for negligent contact with fire and combustible material, mischief, rash and negligent act,” Venkatagiri said.

“We are waiting for reports from the fire and electricity departments to proceed with the investigation”, he further said. The hotel management announced that the eatery would be closed for 15 days for renovation works.