A gas leak from a cylinder pipe triggered a fire and a loud blast at Hostel 6 on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai, Mumbai, injuring five people, including two children, according to information shared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Rajawadi Hospital. All five injured people were reported to be in stable condition.
The incident took place at the Powai campus and was reported to Rajawadi Hospital at around 10:24 pm on Thursday, according to the report. The initial information indicated a blast at the hostel, but subsequent details from civic authorities pointed to a gas leak from a cylinder pipe as the cause of the flare-up.
Police personnel and BMC ward staff were sent to the site after the incident. Medical information provided by the concerned medical officer at Rajawadi Hospital stated that five people suffered burn injuries. Four of them were later shifted to Kasturba Hospital, while one person remained admitted at Rajawadi Hospital.
The injured were identified as Ansh Ahirwar, 12, and Tehzeeb Alam, 9, who were sent to Kasturba Hospital; Ishwar Singh, 37, who was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital; and Shivkumar Singh, 34, and Anilkumar Yadav, 23, who were shifted to Kasturba Hospital. The report did not specify the relationship of the injured people to the hostel or campus facilities.
The incident brought emergency services to a large institutional campus where residential, utility and student-support facilities operate alongside one another. The immediate response involved municipal ward staff, police and hospitals, while the cause described in the available information relates specifically to leakage from a cylinder pipe. Further details about the condition of the hostel, damage to the building and the safety status of the gas installation were not available in the report.
A separate fire was also reported at a G+1 labour camp for construction workers in Navghar, Mulund East, built under a BMC Project-Affected Persons project. The fire was believed to have started from a small blaze at the site before gas cylinders exploded. Seven cylinders reportedly burst during the incident, but everyone at the premises was evacuated safely and no casualties were reported.
Fire brigade personnel were at the Mulund East site and were working to extinguish the fire, while authorities gathered further information. Investigations into both incidents were continuing, according to the available report.
