UP: Oxygen cylinder explodes; ailing woman, pregnant daughter among 6 of family dead
Bulandshahr (UP), Oct 22: An oxygen cylinder kept to aid in the care of an ailing woman exploded in a house in Bulandshahr's Sikandrabad area, killing her and five members of her family, including her husband and her three-year-old granddaughter.
The tragedy that snuffed out the lives of 45-year-old Rukhsana, who had recently been discharged from hospital, her husband Riyazuddin, their three children and granddaughter took place on Monday night. Their two-storey home, which housed 19 members of the family, collapsed partially due to the blast.
Rukhsana's daughter Tamannah who lost her life in the accident was nine-month pregnant, her husband Rizwan said.
Citing the postmortem report of the six deceased, Chief Medical Officer of Bulandshahr Dr Vinay Kumar Singh said one of the women was pregnant.
The last rites of the six deceased were held on Tuesday afternoon.
When the bodies were brought back home today after the postmortem, each covered in a shroud, cries of anguish filled the air as hundreds of people gathered outside the family residence in Ashapuri Colony to share their condolences.
District Magistrate of Bulandshahr Chandra Prakash Singh said, "A cylinder blast occurred in the Ashapuri colony of Sikandrabad between 8.30 pm and 9 pm leading to the collapse of the entire house."
Two or three others suffered injuries in the incident and the rest were safe, according to officials.
Riyazuddin (50), his wife Rukhsana (45), their sons Aas Mohammed (26), Salman (16), daughter Tamannah (24) and her child Hibza (3) died due to the blast.
"She (Tamannah) had asked me to take her back home after two days," Rizwan said. He spoke to her last around 5 pm, he said tearfully.
"Now, I'm left with the pain of losing my mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law, wife and daughter all at once," Rizwan said.
Talking to PTI Videos, neighbours and first responders described the chaos that unfolded after the explosion.
Asif, who has lived next door for 18 years, said, "I heard a sound that felt like something had exploded. I ran outside and saw locals rushing to help. It was chaos, with people inside the house needing to be pulled out."
The explosion created a red flash, followed by darkness in the house. We had to use our mobile phone torches to navigate the thick dust while trying to rescue anyone trapped inside," another neighbour said.
NDRF officer Neeraj Singh, who oversaw the on-ground rescue and relief operations, said the relief work by local police and administration had already started at the site by the time his force reached.
Surface victims had been moved to safety when the NDRF arrived. The NDRF's operations lasted about three hours, Neeraj Singh said.
"We used methods of canine search, technical search, physical search, etc. as per our procedures to make sure no live victim was left behind in the rubble until the civil authorities called off the operations," Singh told PTI Videos.
Personnel of the NDRF, fire brigade, police, medical and the local administration were involved in the rescue work, Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone, Dhruva Kant Thakur said.
DM Singh said the iron beams of the roof of the house had to be pried open using gas cutters. An excavator was also used to clear the debris, he said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took immediate cognisance of the incident and directed officials to visit the spot and ensure good treatment to the injured, the DM said.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bulandshahr Shlok Kumar told PTI that the rescue operation was completed on Tuesday morning. The cylinder, its nozzle, etc. have been recovered from the debris, he said.
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Bengaluru resembles Venice, not Singapore, says JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy as rain batters city
Bengaluru, Oct 22: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress government in Karnataka for its handling of the rain situation, saying Bengaluru resembled Venice and not Singapore, which they had promised to transform it into.
As rains battered the country's IT hub for the third day, the the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters, “They (Congress) had said they would make turn Bengaluru into Singapore, but we are seeing Venice like situation where people move around in boats.”
He claimed that the issue is not just about water-logging in some parts of Bengaluru. For the past three years, people are forced to leave their homes and stay in hotels during rains.
Kumaraswamy alleged that no state minister has made a field visit. Also, no one in the government including Chief Minister Siddramaiah showed the courtesy to speak about the huge crop loss in various parts of Karnataka.
ALSO READ: Three killed, 13 workers trapped after under-construction building collapses in Bengaluru
The opposition BJP too slammed the state government for the potholes in the city.
“People are cursing the Congress government for not handling the potholes. Killer potholes rule in DCM D K Shivakumar’s Brand Bengaluru. Dear Bengaluru Development Minister Shivakumar, first you please solve the problem of Bengaluru,” the BJP Karnataka unit said in a post on ‘X’.
ರಸ್ತೆ ಗುಂಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಚ್ಚಲು "ಕೈ"ಲಾಗದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿಶಾಪ.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) October 22, 2024
ಡಿಕೆಶಿ ಅವರ ಬ್ರ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಯಮರೂಪಿ ಗುಂಡಿಗಳದ್ದೇ ದರ್ಬಾರ್!
ನಗರಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಸಚಿವ @DKShivakumar ಅವರೇ, ಮೊದಲು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಬಗೆಹರಿಸಿ ಕೃತಾರ್ಥರಾಗಿ. #CongressFailsKarnataka pic.twitter.com/F5b9HhoGR1
•ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರವನ್ನು ಬ್ರ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಾಡುವೆ ಎಂದಿದ್ದ ಗಿರಾಕಿ @DKShivakumar
— Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) October 22, 2024
ನಮ್ಮ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ನಗರವನ್ನು ಇಟಲಿಯ ವೆನಿಸ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಕೃತಾರ್ಥರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
•ಭಾರತದ ಸಿಲಿಕಾನ್ ವ್ಯಾಲಿ, ಉದ್ಯಾನನಗರಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕೆರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಒಂದರಂತೆ ನುಂಗಿದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರೇ ಕೆರೆಯಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ!!… pic.twitter.com/XTg0BRRVVA
