Rourkela: A day after a woman was killed and around 35 families were rendered homeless following a gas cylinder explosion at Madhusudanpali here in Sundargarh district, the deceased’s sister-in-law also succumbed to burn injuries Tuesday.
The victims were identified as Rekha Srivastav and Dolly Srivastav, both daughters-in-law of Jawahar Srivastav, the owner of the house where the explosion took place.
While one of them died on the spot after the explosion, another succumbed to her burn injuries Tuesday while undergoing treatment in a Bhubaneswar-based hospital.
Meanwhile, a minor girl K Asmita Acharya (5), daughter of Nagesh Acharya, who also sustained serious burns in the mishap, is battling for life in the ICU of a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.
Medical authorities stated that the girl sustained 60% burn injuries and is currently placed under intense care.
Another local, R Kanta Rao is also bed-ridden after he broke his hand and sustained serious head injuries while trying to rescue people after the mishap. A portion of a wall of a house caved in on his head while he was trying to save a person stuck inside the house.
Similarly, two other women N Lilabati and Satapathi Nayak also sustained burn injuries while trying to save people stuck in houses and are currently undergoing treatment.
People in the locality are yet to come to terms with the tragedy. Lives turned upside down for 35 families in a span of seconds. The worst sufferers are the families whose houses were destroyed in the tragedy. Hundreds of victims have been left homeless and are now living in open air.
Valuables worth lakhs of rupees were reduced to ashes in the mishap. While most of the families depend on sewing mattresses for a living, they are worried as to how they would reconstruct their houses.
Even as the block administration arranged food for the victims, they had to spend the night in puja mandaps and school verandahs.
“The explosion changed everything in seconds. Hundreds of people are left with no roof. What will we do now and how will we survive?” a victim woman said as tears rolled down her eyes.
Meanwhile, youths of the locality have come forward to help the victims in restoring things. The youths are toiling day and night to clear the debris and bring the situation under control.
PNN
