A man and his sister were killed and two others injured in a cylinder explosion in a dilapidated house near the Lahartara private bus station in Varanasi on Tuesday, police said. Police said the two deceased were Om Kumar Chaudhary (28 years old) and Preeti (25 years old). The police added that their brother Aman Chaudhary (31 years old) and their mother Girija Devi (60 years old) are undergoing treatment.
Local residents told the police about the incident that occurred on Tuesday morning, in which the four victims were buried under the rubble. The police immediately reached the spot with a bomb disposal squad and a dog squad, rescued the people and admitted them to the trauma center at BHU where Om Kumar and Preeti succumbed to their injuries, the police said.
Police said the incident occurred when Girija Devi was cooking. An explosion occurred due to a leak in a gas cylinder and the house subsequently collapsed, trapping Girija Devi – along with her three children – under the rubble.
