2 boys killed in godown explosion in northeast Delhi; 1 boy, man still critical

The godown was used to store, repair and resell old CNG cylinders and was illegal since it was inside a residential building

A pair of siblings, aged four and seven, died early Sunday morning after being critically injured in a CNG cylinder explosion at a godown in Sunder Nagri, northeast Delhi on Saturday evening, police said. The victims’ nine-year-old brother, and a 25-year-old godown worker, are still undergoing treatment in a hospital and are said to be critical, police added.

The locality with the building where the ground floor was used as a godown in Sunder Nagri on Saturday. (PTI)

The godown was used to store, repair and resell old CNG cylinders and was illegal since it was inside a residential building, police said. The explosion occurred at 4.30 pm, police said.

“The cylinder exploded during repairs, and the force blew open the godown’s iron gate which then fell on three siblings, aged four, seven and nine, who were playing outside the godown. The explosion impact also gave two of the boys 85% and 90% burns. A godown worker, identified as Mohammad Arshad, a resident of Sunder Nagri, also suffered injuries. Locals called us and when we arrived, we learned that the injured had been admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Dilshad Garden. The two boys who suffered burns succumbed to their injuries today,” said an investigator.

The boys were identified as Raja, 4, Sakib, 7, and Abbas, 9, said Delhi Fire Service officials. Their parents work as tailors in Nand Nagri, police said.

Police said that crime and forensic teams examined the scene to ascertain the cause of the blast and assess the extent of damage.

“The building consists of a ground floor and three upper floors. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately. The shop on the ground floor was illegally storing CNG cylinders in a residential building. Such practices are extremely dangerous,” said Atul Garg, director, DFS.

“Preliminary findings suggest negligence in handling inflammable material. We have already initiated legal proceedings against the godown owner,” said deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ashish Mishra, adding that a case under sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire), 125A(negligent conduct), 326G (mischief by explosive substance) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Nand Nagar police station.

When asked about the establishment being illegal, the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) did not respond to HT’s request for a comment.