Inmates escapes cylinder blast in hostel.

​Eluru: Students of Social Welfare SC Girls Hostel in Ameenapeta escaped unhurt when two gas cylinders blew up on Sunday night. The blast raises suspicions.

The Social Welfare SC Girls hostel was located in Ameenapeta area in Eluru city and accommodates 150 students of eighth, ninth and tenth standards.

All the students except ten girls left the hostel due to two holidays. On Sunday night, around 10 pm, fire broke out in the storeroom of the hostel.

Even the night watchwoman Rani was not present on the premises as she did not turn up for duty on Sunday. However, the hostel warden D Padmavathi was present in the hostel.

The flames engulfed the room. Watching this, the students contacted the fire personnel. When the fire tenders reached and swung into action, two full cylinders in the store room blew up.

With the intensity of the blast, two empty cylinders flew into the air and fell on the floor.

Confirming about the incident, district fire officer B Veerabhadra Rao said: “Fortunately there are only ten students in the hostel when the incident occurred.

If there had been all 150 students present at that time, it would have been a disaster. But we could able to bring the situation under control very soon. ”

He said an inquiry would be conducted if necessary and the case would be handed over to the forensic wing.