Cylinder explosion: Compensation announced for families of victims

Mau: The Mau district administration on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs four lakh each for the families of 13 persons killed in a cylinder explosion here.

HP Gas, the company which supplied the cylinder, will separately give Rs 6 lakh each to the families of those killed in the explosion on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here, District Magistrate Gyan Prakash Tripathi described the incident as an "act of god" (daiviye haadsaa) and said that none of the deceased were from the house in which the blast took place.

"The district administration will give Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. Rs 59,000 will be given to those who had sustained 40 to 60 per cent burn injuries. Rs 96,000 will be given to those whose houses have collapsed," he said.

The DM also said that HP Gas will give Rs 6 lakh each l to the kin of the deceased, while Rs 2 lakh will be given to the injured persons. Rs 2 lakh will be given to those whose houses have been damaged.

Area sales manager of HP Gas Sameer Ikka was also present at the press conference.

Tripathi said, "Monday's blast affected 33 persons. Of this 13 persons died, 15 sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment. Five were discharged after first aid.

The injured are undergoing treatment in Mau, and at trauma centres in Azamgarh and Varanasi."

Giving details of Monday's incident, the District Magistrate said, "The blast took place on Monday morning, when Rita had gone to cook breakfast and noticed the gas leakage.

"She ran out of the house screaming. It was during this time that someone switched on an electric device, which resulted in the blast. The blast completely damaged a couple of houses," he said.