3 families rendered homeless as LPG cylinder blast leads to massive fire in Khallikote

At least three families were rendered homeless after a cooking gas cylinder blast led to a massive fire in Odisha’s Kamalapadar village under Khallikote police limits in Ganjam district. At least 10 rooms of the three families were reduced to ashes in the blaze.

Fortunately, all the family members had a close shave with no major injuries. The incident occurred when the family members were asleep at around 4am early this morning, sources said.

On being informed, fire fighters rushed to the spot and battled to douse the flames. The three houses belong to Kampa Jena, Bhuvani Pahana and Kuntula Pahana.

While the reason for the LPG cylinder blast is yet to be ascertained, neighbours woke up after the blast and rushed to the rescue of the three families. Before people could understand anything, the fire spread to two other neighbouring houses like a wildfire, burning down the three houses.

Valuables worth lakhs of rupees including electronics, cash, crucial documents and groceries kept in the house, were reportedly gutted in the fire.

“We woke up after hearing the huge blast. We rushed outside to find the houses on fire. Before we could do anything, the fire spread everywhere. We tried our best to rescue all the family members, but we could not remove the valuables inside the house. Several important documents including certificates burnt in the fire,” a local said.