LPG cylinder blast at house kills 2 kids in Chennai

Chennai: An LPG cylinder blast inside a house in Navalur along OMR on Sunday morning killed two children and injured seven people.

The deceased were identified as four-year-old Krishika and one-and-a-half-year-old Dheeran, children of Sudha, who had come to visit a relative living in a portion of the house. The two children were trapped under the debris and had died on the spot. Sudha had stepped out of the house shortly before the blast and escaped unhurt.

The injured were Sudha's relatives Sanjeevi, 31, his wife Sonia, 27, and Chitra, 46. Vairamuthu, 40, his wife Selvi, 38, and their seven-year-old son Pradeep, who lived in the portion where the explosion occurred, also suffered severe burn injuries.

The blast occurred around 7.40am at the house on Chamundeshwari Nagar 2nd Street near Navalur, close to Thiruporur, along the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). Residents said an explosion ripped through the street, sending flames and debris into the air and left people running out of their homes in panic.

According to police, the house belongs to Shankar and contains three rental portions. Vairamuthu lived with his wife Selvi and their son Pradeep in the second portion.

Police said Vairamuthu worked in a fast food shop, and he also prepared food at home and supplied it to canteens, eateries, and private customers for the past three months. Three LPG cylinders, which he bought on the black market, were reportedly kept inside the house for bulk cooking. He had been using domestic cylinders for commercial purposes, police said.

Investigators said that Vairamuthu and his wife, along with the child, were sleeping in the hall when the explosion occurred. The powerful back-to-back blasts tore through the building, reducing the three portions of the house to rubble, sending shockwaves through the neighbourhood. An auditor, Murugan, who lived in the first portion of the house, was also injured after being caught in the debris when the structure gave way.

Teams from Tamil Nadu fire and rescue services rushed to the spot, battled the flames, and began rescue operations.

The injured were initially taken to a private hospital in Padur. As Vairamuthu, Selvi, and Pradeep suffered more than 80% burn injuries, they were later shifted to govt Kilpauk medical college and hospital. Their condition is said to be serious.

Police from Thazhambur police station registered a case and began an investigation. The bodies of the two children were sent to Chengalpet govt headquarters hospital for postmortem.

Officials from the revenue department and LPG distribution authorities are also probing the incident. Enquiries revealed food was prepared for commercial distribution in the house without permission or safety measures, while multiple gas cylinders were used. A fire official told TOI that commercial cylinder regulators, tube, and stove appeared to be used with domestic cylinders.

Officials have now launched inspections across the OMR and ECR corridors after receiving information that similar unauthorized food preparation units may be operating in residential areas.