Playing with fire: Burari’s cylinder blast and the cost of looking away

Seema has been a resident of Burari’s Mukundapur village for the past two generations and could never have thought it possible that an incident like the one that unfolded in her village on June 2, could ever have unfolded.

“When the cylinder blast was heard, it shook the entire block. It took all of us by absolute shock.”

That morning, the village stood still as the explosion in a densely packed block where a two-storey building was located. In any other season, the streets outside the building would have been full of children playing, said residents. “Thankfully, because of the summer vacations, they are waking up late,” said Ashok, a resident.

Instead, workers who polished utensils – a thriving business in the area – found themselves trapped. The plot, measuring 250 square feet, also had a godown for storing illicit LPG cylinders. While multiple residents flagged the presence of the godown to the authorities, no visible action had been taken, said residents.

Seema said, “There were a lot of people initially, and we managed to pull out many of those trapped much before the police and fire tenders arrived. After hearing the blast, we stepped out to see what had happened. What we saw left us shaking.”

One critical

Many were heavily bruised and had scratches across their bodies. One of the first residents to rush to the spot to attempt to get the wounded out of the rubble was Raj Sahu. “Some had severe bruises on the skin, while one man who was pulled out could not stop his legs from shaking. Their eyes were wide open,” he said. All of the 11 injured were workers at the establishment and lived on rent nearby.

Rescue efforts

A call reporting the blast and the collapse of a house was received by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) at 9.37 am. The caller informed the authorities that several residents were feared trapped under the debris. “Information was received that a blast had taken place and a building had collapsed, trapping people inside. Rescue teams were immediately rushed to the spot and search and rescue operations were launched,” a DFS official confirmed.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami, the police received information about the blast and the collapse around 9.30 am, after which an Emergency Response Vehicle patrolling nearby and local police personnel rushed to the spot. “Eleven people have been rescued. One woman suffered burn injuries and is in a critical condition. She has been referred to Safdarjung Hospital,” Swami said.

Many cylinders recovered

The officer also said that an initial investigation suggested the blast might have occurred while transferring gas from a big cylinder to a smaller one. Some cylinders were found at the spot. “Prima facie, we got to know that a utensil colouring factory was being operated from the building. Many gas cylinders were found there. The process of transferring gas from big cylinders to small ones was taking place and that appears to be the possible reason behind the blast,” Swami said.

As per DFS officials, the building had a ground floor that was allegedly being used to refill small LPG cylinders from commercial LPG cylinders when the blast took place, resulting in the collapse of the structure.

The DFS said 10 of the injured were taken to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital for treatment, while the critically injured woman was referred to the Safdarjung Hospital. Authorities cleared the debris and searched the collapsed structure to ensure no one was trapped.

Waiting to happen

The residents also raised concerns regarding the presence of other such illegal cylinder godowns – scores of LPG cylinders that did not catch fire were carried out of the site by firefighters. Residents say that they keep alerting the authorities about such godowns, but no action was taken.

The residents were asked to clear the way leading up to the godown to avoid the prospect of anything untoward happening. “There are more such warehouses in Mukundapur, but nobody says anything about it. We had complained earlier, but for the past year or so, no complaint has been made as such. Personally, I know of three other warehouses which are being run as godowns for illicit cylinders,” a resident said on the condition of anonymity.

Former councillor Ajay Sharma claimed a godown had stockpiled at least 50 cylinders at a tenement. “They are not letting us open the gates [of our houses] to get fresh air,” he said, claiming a nexus between the building owners and the monitoring agencies.

Following the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, LPG supplies across South Asia have been impacted. In Delhi, the shortage is marked not by empty depots or official announcements, but by price distortions, access barriers, and hoarding, as was the case in the Burari village.