SHATTERING IMPACT: Police sorting out scrap at a building which suffered damage following an explosion in Vijayawada on Tuesday. — Photo: Raju V.

VIJAYAWADA: A scrap dealer was killed and his assistant injured when a powerful explosion rocked a building around 11.30 a.m. near Bandar Lockulu here on Tuesday. Intensity of the explosion was so powerful that the walls of the shop collapsed and the roof partially caved in. The dealer, S. Asireddi, 38, died on the spot and his assistant, D. Sekhar, 20, suffered grievous injuries. He was rushed to the Government General Hospital.

The building suffered structural damage in the explosion, which left one of the concrete beams hanging precariously. The family living on the first floor was evacuated immediately. ccording to Sheik Javed, a worker in the scrap unit, Asireddi and his brother Ramireddi of Mahantipuram in One Town area are scrap dealers. They receive scrap from various industries in the city, including from some quarries.

Massive explosion

Asireddy opened the shop as usual and the explosion occurred suddenly rattling the windowpanes of other buildings around with a deafening sound. People ran helter-skelter for safety.

Police Commissioner Umesh Sharaf, who visited the scene, told media persons that the explosion was not caused by cooking gas cylinder as suspected earlier. He said that re-chargeable batteries often explode. A large number of batteries could have caused such a massive explosion, he said. Mr. Sharaf said that it was dangerous to allow scrap units in buildings and that he would write a letter to Municipal Commissioner Natarajan Gulzar to take the necessary action.

Mayor Tadi Sakuntala, who visited the spot, told reporters that it was against municipal corporation rules to have scrap units in residential houses. Scrap should be sorted out in the open and not in closed rooms and definitely not in buildings in which families were residing. She said the building was badly damaged and should be vacated immediately. She said municipal corporation engineers would be pressed into service to assess the damage to the building. The police registered a case under the Explosives Act.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail