A gas leak in a cylinder pipe triggered a fire at Hostel 6 on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai, injuring five people, including two minors, on Thursday night. The injured were taken to Rajawadi Hospital and Kasturba Hospital, with authorities reporting that all five were in stable condition.
The incident was reported to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) through Rajawadi Hospital at around 10:24 pm. According to information received from the hospital’s medical officer, the leak led to a flare-up and a loud blast inside the hostel premises.
Police personnel and BMC ward staff were sent to the IIT Bombay campus after the incident. The injured were identified as Ansh Ahirwar, 12, Tahzeeb Alam, 9, Ishwar Singh, 37, Shivkumar Singh, 34, and Anilkumar Yadav, 23.
Ansh Ahirwar and Tahzeeb Alam were taken to Kasturba Hospital. Ishwar Singh was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital, while Shivkumar Singh and Anilkumar Yadav were also sent to Kasturba Hospital. The available hospital information said that all five injured people were stable.
The incident was reported as a gas leak from a cylinder pipe rather than an explosion involving the cylinder itself. The supplied information does not specify the extent of damage to the hostel, the precise location of the leak, or whether the affected area was evacuated beyond the immediate emergency response.
A separate fire incident was also reported from Navghar in Mulund East, where a G+1 labour camp built under a BMC Project Affected Persons project caught fire. The camp housed construction workers, and the fire is suspected to have started from a small blaze at the site before spreading to gas cylinders.
Seven gas cylinders reportedly burst during the Mulund East incident. Everyone present at the premises was evacuated safely, and no casualties were reported. Fire brigade personnel were at the site and were working to extinguish the fire when the report was published.
The two incidents were reported in the same update but occurred at separate locations. Further details on the cause of the Powai fire, the condition of the hostel premises and the circumstances in which the minors were present were not available in the supplied information. Authorities were continuing to gather information and investigate both incidents.
