Three killed in Delhi CNG pump blast

Three people were killed and three others critically injured after a CNG cylinder fitted on a truck exploded at a fuel station in outer Delhi on Wednesday. A family member of one victim alleged that the victim was bleeding at the site for nearly 30 minutes before help arrived.

According to police information, the explosion involved a CNG cylinder on a truck. The blast also damaged another truck, a car, a scooter and machinery at the filling station near Tikri Kalan Metro Station in outer Delhi. Six people were injured in the explosion and were rushed to hospitals by members of the public and police before Delhi Fire Service units reached the spot. 

The deceased have been identified as Manish, 25, and Sunny, 32, both declared dead at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, and Paramjeet, 34, declared dead at Jeevan Jyoti Hospital. The injured, undergoing treatment at CD Global Hospital, are Surjeet, 32, and Sanjay, 37. 

The identity of the sixth person, who sustained minor injuries and left the scene, remains unknown.

Manish’s uncle, Vijay Prasad, said his nephew had been working at the fuel pump for around three years and had reported for his shift at about 2 pm on Wednesday. The explosion occurred around 2.30pm or 2.45pm, he said.

Prasad said he received a phone call informing him that a cylinder had exploded and that Manish was seriously injured. He said he immediately called his brother, and along with his nephew and several others, rushed to the spot. “He lay there for half an hour. He had lost so much blood. How could anyone survive?” Prasad said, alleging that Manish remained on the ground at the fuel pump for close to 30 minutes before an ambulance could be arranged and he was taken to Safdarjung Hospital.

Prasad alleged that no one from the fuel station staff was present to assist Manish in the immediate aftermath, saying all gas station employees had fled the scene following the blast. By the time an ambulance arrived and Manish could be moved, he had already lost a significant amount of blood, his uncle said. Sunny, another employee at the fuel pump, died during treatment at the hospital, according to police.

The Delhi Fire Service said it received a call about the incident at 3.37 pm, following which six fire tenders were dispatched to the location. An officer said the six people standing near the truck at the time of the explosion were rushed to hospital for treatment.

Large teams of police and fire personnel were deployed to the area following the blast, working to secure the site and manage the aftermath. A fire service official said the explosion triggered panic among people in the vicinity of the fuel station, and precautionary measures were carried out to bring the situation under control.

Police said the exact cause of the explosion was not immediately known, and an investigation into the incident remains underway. Officials said the probe would examine whether equipment failure, procedural lapses or other factors contributed to the blast during the refueling process.