Two killed, six fall sick after gas leak at storeroom in Bengal’s Durgapur

Kolkata, Dec 25: Two persons died while six other were rescued in critical conditions inside a storeroom of a popular sweetmeat outlet at Durgapur in West Bengal’s Burdwan district on Monday.

The deaths occurred due to the gas leak from a cooking LPG cylinder which was also stored at the same storeroom. The bodies of the two deceased were recovered while six others have been rescued under critical conditions on Monday morning.

The two deceased persons have been identified as Bidhan Mondal (21) and Atanu Ruidas (22). All the dead and sick are residents of the Beliatore in Bankura district of West Bengal.

The sick persons are currently under treatment at a local hospital. Local police sources said that the mishap probably happened sometime between late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

“One of the employees, before falling unconscious, had sent a SOS call to the owner of the sweetmeat outlet, who immediately reached near the storeroom. However, he found the door of the storeroom locked from inside and his repeated banging of the door failed to evoke response,” said a local police official.

Thereafter the owner with the help of his associates broke open the door and also informed the local police station. The bodies of the two deceased victims were recovered and six others were shifted to the local hospital.

Initial investigation revealed that gas leak, in a sparsely ventilated storeroom, was the main reason behind the mishap.