Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 04, 2003
20 Killed Following Blast in Residential Building in India
At least 20 people were killed and 40 others injured Sunday when a three-storey residential building and two adjoining ones came crashing down following a powerful explosion.
At least 20 people were killed and 40 others injured Sunday when a three-storey residential building and two adjoining ones came crashing down following a powerful explosion.
The blast was triggered by LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinders in Surat, south Gujarat state of India, according to thePress Trust of India (PTI).
The LPG cylinders exploded at around 3:25 a.m. local time on the ground floor of the building that housed a unit manufacturing "sharan," an instrument widely used in diamond cutting, the PTI quoted local police as saying.
The impact of the explosion was so intense that two adjoining buildings, housing commercial establishments, also collapsed, the police said.
Police suspect that sub-standard material could have been used in the construction of the buildings which caused the structures to cave in.
So far 20 bodies have been extricated from the debris and the injured have been admitted to a local hospital, said the police.