Stove explodes, teacher among 4 injured

Four people in a village near Sholingur in the district sustained injuries after gas leak from a stove that was being repaired reportedly led to an explosion, on Wednesday. While three people in the site of the blast sustained injuries, a schoolteacher also was injured from wall collapse in the incident.

According to the police, Kaliappan (25), a man involved in the occupation of repairing stoves from Rathnagiri, went to Pulivalam village near Sholingur to repair the gas stove owned by Natarajan, whose house was built against the compound wall of an adjoining government higher secondary school.

After the stove was fixed, Kaliappan lit the gas stove to see whether it was functioning properly when it exploded with a loud sound. The resulting fire caught on to the clothes of Kaliappan, Natarajan and his wife Anniammal, who suffered burns.

Further, the force of the blast resulted in the compound wall of the school against which Natarajan’s house was built collapsing, injuring Mullai, a teacher, who was seated close to the wall.

While Mullai was rushed to a private hospital in Vellore, the other three, Kaliappan, Natarajan and Anniammal, were admitted to the Vellore government medical college hospital. The police have registered a case and are investigating.