22-year-old woman buried under rubble caused by cylinder blast

Skipping morning walk cost her dear

22-year-old woman buried under rubble caused by cylinder blast

The residents of Tarate Colony woke up to a loud bang and a series of screams and shrieks, last morning.

The intensity of the blast was so severe that it led to the death of an engineering student. The wall of the kitchen collapsed and buried Asmita Suresh Pandit (22) under it, leading to her death.

Her father Suresh, a goldsmith, was also injured in the wall collapse. He suffered injuries to his leg and knees.

The intensity of the blast was such that the common wall between Flat Number 22 and 23 collapsed on Asmita.
An eyewitness Baban Khutwad (70), who stays opposite the Pandits, said, "Asmita, her mother Kalyani and I go for morning walks together, but yesterday Asmita stayed back. Little did we know what fate had in store for her."

"I heard a loud bang and saw flames emerging out of Flat Number 22 and 23. There was chaos and shattered pieces of glass were strewn all over. The society members gathered and we removed the cylinders, which were surprisingly intact," he added.

Leaking cylinder
According to fire brigade officials, the blast took place when Suresh Honrao, a resident at Sairaj complex turned on his gas cylinder, which was leaking. Haveli police also said that it was a gas leak in Honrao's flat and a spark from the stove led to the blast.

Honrao sustained 97 per cent burns, his wife Kavita 70 per cent and son Shubham 30 per cent burns.

No foul play
As both Pandit and Honrao were goldsmiths, residents earlier suspected that it was a chemical blast. However, the bomb disposal squad was called in along with a sniffer dog to screen the area.

Police Inspector Satish Patil, who is investigating the case, said, "Looking at the nature of the blast it seems it occurred due to a gas leak."

Difficult access
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise added, "It is difficult to get fire brigades in areas like Dhankawadi, Balaji Nagar and parts of Sinhgad Road because of the narrow lanes. Due to this we are forced to keep mini mistgun vans."