Family of four battles for life after LPG blast in Pudupet

The victims have been identified as Khaja Moidheen (45), his wife Seer Fathima (38) and children Mohammed Rizwan (18) and Mohammed Riyaz (15). 

Police said the accident took place around 5.15 am on Saturday, when Fathima switched on the light in the kitchen, unaware of the gas leak. The LPG cylinder caught fire with the spark and four family members suffered severe burn injuries. 

The neighbours rushed to the house and doused the fire. Police and Fire Service personnel also arrived at the spot and rescued the victims, who were sent to Kilpauk Medical College. 

According to initial reports, Khaja Moidheen suffered 96 per cent burns, his wife 94 per cent, Rizwan 61 and Riyas 54.  

Police said the officials from all the three companies, Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum, inspected the house and concluded that the gas leak was due to the inmates’ carelessness in closing the valve properly.

While gross negligence on the consumers’ part is attributed to the increasing number of LPG cylinder explosions, the poor condition of cylinders, which are not subjected to the periodical statutory check and painting, is also cited as a major factor causing such miseries.

In many incidents, no proper investigation is done to ascertain the exact reason for LPG explosion. Police sources said that the concerned petroleum company usually visits the spot to carry out a preliminary inspection and closes the case claiming that customer’s negligence caused the accident. 

The LPG distributors in the city regularly get calls regarding leakage from the cylinders, which, many allege is caused due to poor fixing of the rubber valves on the cylinder. “As per the petroleum companies’ guidelines, it is mandatory that the LPG delivery persons should check the seal and the cylinder for gas leak after delivering the refill. But none of the delivery persons do that, and  instead abuse the consumers if they insist on the check,” Bindu Krishnan, a resident of Kodambakkam said. The consumers say that the distributors also do not entertain complaints and reaching them over telephone is a Himalayan task. 

Most of the customers are not properly educated about the proper use of LPG cylinders. “Every consumer pays minimum Rs 15 to Rs 20 extra to the delivery person but are unable to demand the mandatory checks. The distributors also do not listen to our complaints,” Sreedevi Krishnan, another house wife from Virugambakkam said. 

When contacted, Savitha Natraj, PRO of IOC, said that there was nothing called an ‘expiry’ date for the cylinders and added that accidents happen due to the usage mistakes. “I am yet to learn about the latest accident in Pudupet and do not know whether the victims were Indane customers,” she added.