Prayagraj: A joint team of police, fire department personnel and forensic experts is searching for clues to ascertain the exact cause of the LPG cylinder explosion in Fatehpur’s Malwa town that claimed the lives of five members of a family, including four children, on Monday evening.The team has collected samples from the site, including fragments of the domestic LPG cylinder and regulator, for further examination.During the probe, investigators found that the family, besides running a grocery store, was also engaged in the fruit trade. Police learnt that carbide, commonly used for ripening bananas, was stored on the first floor of the house, adjacent to the kitchen.A senior police officer told TOI that the joint team had carried out a detailed inspection of the site and was analysing all possible factors that could have triggered the explosion. He said the collected samples would be sent for laboratory testing.“Preliminary investigations and circumstantial evidence suggest it was a case of cylinder explosion. However, the joint teams are working to determine the exact cause behind the blast,” the officer said.Investigators also interacted with neighbours and other residents to gather additional inputs. The blast was so powerful that people living within a 500-metre radius were left stunned, with several residents reporting temporary hearing impairment. Eyewitnesses said the explosion sounded like a helicopter crash or a bomb blast.For nearly 10 minutes, confusion prevailed as a thick cloud of dust and smoke engulfed the area. Debris from the collapsed house was strewn across a wide area.Terrified women and children in neighbouring houses were reluctant to step outside as police had already cordoned off the locality.“Since it was evening, most people had returned home from work while women were busy in their kitchens. The sound of the explosion was so loud that everyone rushed out of their homes immediately,” said a neighbour.
