Two people lost their lives and six others were critical at the time of rescue after an LPG cylinder leaked at a sweetmeat shop in West Bengal's Durgapur in the Burdwan district on Monday. The leak happened from a cylinder kept inside the storeroom of the outlet. News agency IANS has reported that the leak was the reason behind the two deaths.
The two deceased people were identified as 21-year-old Bidhan Mondal and 22-year-old Atanu Ruidas. The victims and those affected by the leak were residents of Beliatore in the Bankura district of West Bengal.
The people who fell sick due to the incident have been admitted to a local hospital where they are undergoing treatment. The incident took place in the week hours between late Sunday night and Monday morning.
“One of the employees, before falling unconscious, had sent a SOS call to the owner of the sweetmeat outlet, who immediately reached the storeroom. However, he found the door of the storeroom locked from the inside and his repeated banging of the door failed to evoke a response,” a local police official told the news agencies.
The owner of the store and his associates broke open the door afterwards and rescued the people stuck inside. The police responded promptlyLPG and launched an investigation into the matter. Initial probe has revealed that the gas leak inside the poorly ventilated storeroom of the shop was the reason behind the deaths.