LPG leak causes fire at gold smithy in West Mambalam

According to the fire service personnel, Ramalingam from West Mambalam was running a gold smithy along MR Muthuranga road. He locked his workshop and left the place on Tuesday night. 

However, gas was leaking from the cylinder placed in the shop. Fire service personnel said that on Wednesday morning, a passer-by who was smoking near the smithy had thrown the butt of the cigarette into the workshop even as it was still burning leading to the blast. 

Around that time, four men, Lakshmanan (65), Selvaraj (62) Loganathan (60) and Nagaraj (63), all from the same area, had come to the tea stall and were standing outside the smithy consuming tea. When the blast took place, the front wall and front door of the smithy burst into pieces injuring all the four men. 

The injured men were rushed to the Kilpauk GH while firefighters from the T Nagar fire service station rushed to the spot and doused the fire in about 30 minutes. The West Mambalam police are investigating.