Blast in house kills two

Karimnagar: Two persons were killed and another sustained severe injuries in a blast that took place at a house at Housing Board Colony here in the early hours on Sunday.

The impact of the blast was so severe that the house was damaged and the parts of the bodies of the deceased were strewn around.

According to police, three friends Nagarjuna, Ramakrishna and Srinivas were living in the house for the last seven years. All the three were natives of Kurnool. They were eking out their livelihood by making toys of Plaster of Paris (POP) and selling them in the market here. A small blast occurred at the house on Saturday night due to leakage of an expired chemical liquid which is usually mixed in POP to make toys. When the three contacted the company which sold the liquid, the company staff advised them it was dangerous to use an expired chemical liquid. The three were immediately advised to mix the chemical in water. However, the inmates of the house ignored the advice.

They tried to mix the chemical in water on Sunday morning. While doing so, Nagarjuna stirred the liquid and it immediately caused the blast. The blast also led to explosion of a gas cylinder in the house.

The explosion caused instantaneous death of Nagarjuna and Ramakrishna. Srinivas who was sitting at a distance from the site of the blast in the house sustained severe injuries and he was admitted to the government hospital here. Meanwhile, the local people flayed the police for their failure to conduct a complete probe when a minor blast took place in the house on Saturday night. They wonder if the explosion on Sunday was caused due to any material used for blasting granite stones. They even express doubts if the inmates of the house were involved in making crude bombs. The local people also stated that the three persons at the house used to keep aloof.

However, the police said that they would be able to ascertain the causes of the explosion only after completion of a thorough probe.