Bengaluru cylinder blast kills five

Four men and a woman were killed when a two-storey building collapsed here on Monday after a cooking gas cylinder exploded, police said.

Two children aged 12 and 3 were among the seven others injured in the incident that occurred between 6 and 7 a.m. in Ejipura area.

"A LPG cylinder exploded on the ground floor of a two-storey building. The building collapsed, trapping several people in the debris. Five bodies have been recovered," a police official told IANS.

The injured, rescued from the rubble, were admitted to hospitals.

The deceased were identified as Maladri, 25, Pavan Kalyan, 19, Prasad, 18, Ravichandran, 46, and Kalavathi, 68, the official said.

Bengaluru Urban Development Minister K.J. George, who visited the site, told reporters that Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia would be paid to the families of the deceased.

"We will also give Rs 50,000 each to the injured," he said. "We are looking into the reasons behind the blast."

--IANS

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