LPG cylinder blast in Fatehpur collapses house, killing four including a toddler

Four people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed and three others injured when a domestic cooking gas cylinder exploded and caused a two-storey house to collapse in Malwan town in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district on Monday evening, police said.

According to the Superintendent of Police, Abhimanyu Manglik, the blast took place around 5 pm while meals were being prepared at the home of Suresh Gupta, also known as Chunnar, a fruit and vegetable vendor.

The explosion brought down the two-storey building, trapping members of the family under the debris and damaging several houses nearby.

Seven people were pulled out of the rubble and rushed to hospital. Four of them — a three-year-old, an 18-year-old and two teenagers, all male — later died of their injuries, the SP said. Their identities have not yet been established.

Among the injured, two are stated to be out of danger, while a third has suffered burns of around 90 per cent and remains in critical condition.

Police personnel, fire brigade teams and local residents took part in the rescue operation. The cause of the blast is under investigation.