A sudden blast in a burning van caused panic across the city on Tuesday around noon at the Aishbagh locality in Bhopal. The incident happened near Fatima Masjid wherein the fire caught up inside a stationary van for an unidentified reason. Witnesses report flames shooting up into the air around 30 to 40 feet high, while the blast was powerful enough to send the vehicle's body skywards as much as 50 feet.
The blast shocked nearby residents and passersby with its intensity and the surrounding area shook with the force of the explosion so much that it was lucky that no casualties occurred. The van that went off was believed to have housed an LPG cylinder, which probably went off when ignited by fire.
Residents immediately called the fire brigade to hear the sound of the blast. Firefighting teams were able to bring the fire under control in just around 15 minutes after receiving the emergency call. Meanwhile, the root cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed by authorities, but preliminary findings hinted that an LPG cylinder within the van might have been one of the possible causes that led to the fiery incident.
While the fire was brought under control quite rapidly, concern existed regarding the safety protocol over vehicle parking areas near residential areas. The police and fire department officials have continued their investigation on the matter to find out the actual cause that led to the explosion.
This is a psychological shock for the residents but has not yet shown injuries. Accidents like these underscore the threats posed to life by LPG cylinders in motor vehicles and the necessity of prompt emergency response in these types of instances.
