Panipat: At least six persons including a couple were charred to death in an LPG cylinder linked fire accident that took place in the Tehsil Camp area of Haryana's Panipat on Thursday morning, officials said. The preliminary investigations suggest the blaze was triggered by gas leakage.
As per an official, the blast took place in Karnawas village Rewari located on Bawal Road in a slum area. Panipat police have identified the deceased as Abdul Karim (50), his wife Afroza (46), their daughters Ishrat Khatun (17), and Reshma (16), sons Abdul Shakoor (10) and Afan (7).
The family hailed from North Dinajpur district in West Bengal and have migrated here. The couple were working in a factory. Seven other families who were also from West Bengal were living here in the makeshift hutments in the slum area. The fire which started from Abdul Karim's hut soon spread to other structures. At least seven structures were damaged in the fire, an official said.
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As soon as the information was received, police and fire brigade vehicles reached the spot. The fire brigade controlled the fire, but by then most of the slums had been burnt to ashes. Most of the belongings of the slum dwellers were destroyed. "Six have died in this incident. The dead include a couple and their two children," Inspector Phool Kumar, SHO at Tehsil Camp Police Station in Panipat, told PTI.
