Oxygen Cylinder Blast in Okhla Godown Kills Worker, Injures Four

A 35-year-old worker died and four others were injured when a commercial oxygen cylinder exploded during unloading at a godown in Okhla Phase-I on Wednesday morning. The deceased has been identified as Mohit Singh, a resident of Jaipur who worked as a helper with SM Traders, a local distributor of industrial oxygen cylinders.

The incident took place at approximately 10:43 a.m. at D-23, Okhla Phase-I. Police said a Tata 407 vehicle registered to SM Traders had arrived from Ghaziabad carrying commercial oxygen cylinders. Workers were moving the cylinders from the vehicle into the godown when one of them fell onto the road and exploded.

Singh died at the spot. The four injured workers — Umesh, Arvind, Manoj and Pankaj — were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment.

The godown, which has been rented by SM Traders for the past one to two years, is used for receiving filled cylinders from Ghaziabad and supplying them to local traders and industrial units, particularly in the Okhla area. Police said no oxygen-filling plant was found at the premises.

The firm is believed to handle around 70 to 80 cylinders daily, though this figure has not yet been verified against stock registers and invoices. Authorities are also checking the source of the cylinders, the supplier's credentials, cylinder ownership, and whether the firm held the necessary licences for storage, handling and transportation.

The exact technical cause of the explosion has not been established. Forensic teams will examine the cylinder, vehicle and the scene as part of the ongoing investigation. The premises have been secured.