Hyderabad: Three persons, including twin brothers and an elderly woman, died in a flash fire due to a leak from a gas cylinder in Khammam district on Monday night. Police said the twins — seven-year-old Varun Tej and Tarun Tej Vinod — were staying at the house along with their father G Vinod, 28. Police said the third victim has been identified as Susheelamma, Vinod’s grandmother.
The incident also left two nine-year-old daughters of Vinod’s sister. At around 7pm on Monday, Vinod was attempting to replace the gas cylinder. While he was fixing the regulator to the fully loaded cylinder, it suddenly started to leak with force. Nearby, cooking was being done in a fireplace with sticks on fire. The gas leak resulted in a flash fire, catching the family unawares.
“It was like a flash fire, wherein all six persons suffered burn injuries. The injured were shifted to a local hospital. Since the condition of Varun was serious, he was referred to Niloufer Hospital, where he succumbed on Tuesday morning. A few hours later, Vinod’s grandmother also succumbed. On Tuesday night, Tarun too breathed his last,” Thalada station house officer Kondal Rao told TOI.
While Vinod, who is a mason, is out of danger, the condition of one of the two girls is serious. “Since it was summer vacation, Vinod’s nieces came to his house,” police said. Police said that at the time of the accident, the boys had just come out of the washroom after a bath. This made their skin directly exposed to the fire.
When the boys’ father was fixing regulator to loaded cylinder, it started to leak with force. Cooking nearby using firewood ignited the leaked gas
