Four people died and five others injured after an explosion caused three houses to collapse in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district at midnight.
Police said the explosion took place in Rathore Colony, under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station around midnight. Upon being informed, they reached the site and began the rescue operation with help from the municipal corporation.
“We received information about an incident that occurred between 12 am and 1 am here. Acting on it, the police administration and the municipal corporation team rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation,” city superintendent of police (CSP) Ravi Soner told ANI.
“We are making efforts to complete the rescue operation as soon as possible. So far, we have recovered two dead bodies, and there is a possibility of two more people trapped in the debris of the house,” Soner added.
He also said that five persons have sustained injuries in the incident and are currently receiving treatment.
Morena superintendent of police (SP) Sameer Saurabh said that the cause of the explosion is still unknown, with an FSL team on site. The exact reason will be determined after the investigation, he added.
What caused the explosion
The incident took place in the city’s Rathore Colony area around midnight, said Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh.
The body of one of the deceased women was still being extricated from under the debris, he said.
Vasudev Rathore, whose house was destroyed in the explosion and whose 28-year-old daughter-in-law was among the deceased, expressed suspicion that the blast was caused by gunpowder.
LPG cylinders were found intact during the removal of debris, he told reporters. Sub Divisional Magistrate Bhupendra Singh Kushwaha said the reason behind the blast was yet not clear.
A Forensic Science Laboratory team will be able to ascertain whether it was gunpowder or a gas cylinder that exploded, he added. The injured persons were sent to Gwalior for further treatment, said a doctor at the Morena district hospital.