Delhi Tragedy: Death toll climbs to three after gas tank explodes at CNG station in Tikri Kalan

The death toll in the CNG station blast in outer Delhi's Tikri Kalan climbed to three on Wednesday, with all the deceased identified as employees of the fuel station, police said, according to PTI. Several others were also injured after a truck's gas tank exploded at the station. One of the three victims was reportedly filling the tank when the explosion occurred.

The incident occurred at around 3.37 pm, triggering panic in the area.

One of the deceased was identified as 25-year-old Manish, a resident of Baba Haridas Colony in West Delhi, reported NDTV. Police stated Manish died on the spot, while Sunny and four others were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Sunny later succumbed to his injuries, while the identity of the third deceased was still being ascertained, a senior police officer noted.

The Delhi Fire Service received a call about the incident at 3.37 pm, following which six fire tenders were sent to the site. The injured people, who were reportedly near the truck when the explosion occurred, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Delhi fire officials carried out precautionary measures at the CNG station and brought the situation under control.

The officer said three of the injured were in critical condition.

The exact cause of the explosion was not immediately known, police said.

Sikkim tunnel collapse

Meanwhile, the bodies of all 25 workers trapped inside an under-construction NHPC hydropower project tunnel in Sikkim's Namchi district were recovered, officials said on July 23 this year, three days after the tunnel collapsed, as per PTI.

Three bodies were recovered during the day, completing the search operation, they said.

The workers were inside the tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project when it caved in shortly after 1 pm on Monday following an explosion suspected to have been triggered by methane gas.

The state government has set up a high-level committee to probe the cause and circumstances of the incident and suggest measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, an official said.

"All 25 bodies have now been recovered after 72 hours of continuous search operations," K K Roy, a member of the Eastern Coalfield Ltd team, told reporters.

The rescue operation was hampered by the presence of methane gas, mud and water inside the tunnel, Roy said.

"Members of the search teams had faced difficulties in tracing the bodies. The mud was knee-deep in some places in the tunnel. The team members carried out a comprehensive inspection of the tunnel. After accounting for all recorded missing workers, they confirmed that no one remained trapped inside," Roy said.

Of the 25 deceased workers, 11 were from West Bengal, four from Jharkhand, two each from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, and one each from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Punjab and Assam, another official said.

"All recovered bodies have been sent to Singtam District Hospital, STNM Hospital Sochakgang in Gangtok, Namchi District Hospital, and the Central Referral Hospital (CRH), Manipal, for the necessary medico-legal procedures," he said.

The official added that eight of the 25 bodies had been handed over to their families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased. The Sikkim government and NHPC also announced compensation of ₹4 lakh and ₹5 lakh, respectively.

Following the tunnel collapse at Samardung in Jholungey, the Sikkim government and NHPC Ltd immediately launched rescue efforts. Teams from the Namchi district administration, Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, police, State Disaster Response Force, Fire and Emergency Services, the National Disaster Response Force from Pakyong and Siliguri, and members of Eastern Coalfields Ltd took part in the search operation, officials said.