An explosion in Assam’s Jorhat killed a 45-year-old man and an 8-year-old boy, injuring others. Police ruled out a cylinder blast, suggesting the deceased, a scrap collector, may have accidentally detonated an item while trying to dismantle it.
An explosion in a residential area of Assam’s Jorhat district killed two people, including a child, and injured several others, with eyewitnesses saying the blast did not appear to be caused by a cylinder. On Saturday, an eyewitness told ANI that, “At around 4- 4.30 PM, I heard a loud noise… Someone said that a cylinder burst… No cylinder was found here. It was definitely some explosive material. There was a person of around 45 years of age, Noor Mohammad, his son has died, his daughter and a neighbour are injured.” The disaster has triggered widespread panic across the locality.
Two Dead, Several Injured
Further, the initial reports had stated that a man identified as Noor Mohammad had died on the spot after the blast. The explosion had been so intense that his body was severely mutilated, indicating the magnitude of the impact. Two children had also been critically injured in the incident: an eight-year-old boy, Mohammad Iqbal, and a 12-year-old girl, Sehnaj Begum. Both had been rushed to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for emergency treatment. However, the condition of the boy had deteriorated, and he had succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The girl had remained in critical condition and was battling for her life. In addition, a woman named Noorjahan Begum had also sustained minor injuries in the explosion.
Investigation Rules Out Cylinder Blast
Police teams had reached the spot soon after the incident and had launched an investigation. According to Jorhat SSP Subrajyoti Bora, authorities had initially suspected a cylinder blast; however, upon arriving at the scene, that cause had been ruled out.
Deceased was Dismantling Scrap, Say Police
Based on local witness statements, the deceased, Noor Mohammad, had collected various scrap materials and had likely been dismantling some items when the explosion had occurred. “I had initially received the information over the phone that there was a cylinder blast. But afterwards, we had come to know that although the initial information was a cylinder blast, it probably was not a cylinder blast at all. So after visiting the site, we had visualised that there was a small crater-type thing just below the location where the blast had taken place and from the statements of the local people, we had come to know that this expired person, Noor Mohammad, used to work as a worker of a scrap-dump yard and used to collect various types of materials. So that day also, after completing his task, he had deposited all the other materials in the scrap yard, and probably a few items had been taken by him to his home where he had thought of dismantling those items in order to find some base metals like copper, etc,” said Bora.
“He probably must have been dismantling the item with the help of a hammer and had been heard repeatedly beating the item with the hammer. And suddenly, when the process had been going on, a loud explosion had taken place and unfortunately, the person had died and in the same process, two small children had also been playing in the location and both of them had got injured and very unfortunately, one of the small children had also lost his life,” he had added.
Exact Cause Unknown, Fear Grips Locals
However, the exact cause of the explosion had yet to be determined. Authorities had been examining all possible angles to ascertain what had led to the blast.
The incident had created a tense atmosphere in the area, with residents expressing fear and concern over safety. (ANI)
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