135 Shanties Gutted In Fire; Cylinder Explosions

The fire involved multiple gas cylinder explosions.As many as 12 fire tenders were deployed.There was no report of injuries to anyone but property was extensively damaged.

Durg: At least 135 shanties were gutted on Saturday in a fire that involved multiple gas cylinder explosions in Chhattisgarh’s Durg drict, a police official said. There was no report of injuries to anyone but the property was extensively damaged, he added.

“As per preliminary information, a fire broke out in one of the shanties in Surya Nagar in Bhilai town at around 3 pm, leading to an LPG cylinder exploding, which further triggered the blaze. The fire spread in a few minutes and eventually some 10 cylinders blew up in the area where most of the residents are labourers,” said Kaushalendra Patel, Chhawani City Superintendent of Police (CSP).

“It took firefighters and other rescue personnel three hours to douse the blaze, which gutted 135 shanties. As many as 12 fire-tending vehicles were deployed for the operation. No one sustained burns or injuries though the property was damaged,” the CSP added. The fire may have started due to a short circuit though a probe is underway to find out the exact cause, the officer said.