Guntur, November 17: A little presence of mind would have spared the lives of 15 men and women, who were blown to bits when gelatin sticks stored in a house exploded at Narayanapuram village of Dachepalli mandal in Guntur district on Monday.
And, fifteeen others would not have landed in hospital. Sources said Burala Koteswara Rao (48), a resident of the village, had the licence to deal in gelatin sticks and he had a huge stockpile of the explosive material in his house.
This morning, his neighbours alerted him about a gas leak in his kitchen.
His wife, Tulasamma, then lit a candle to check the same, the sources said, adding that within no time, the house was caught up in flames and the gelatin sticks exploded, bringing down about 10 other houses in the neighbourhood.
The impact of the blast was such that passengers of a Hyderabad-bound train on its way half-a-km from the spot felt the shock waves. Rescue teams were able to pull out 10 bodies from the debris by evening. More are feared dead or trapped.
Some of the victims were identified as Koteswara Rao, his wife Tulasamma (40) and their neighbours SK Inad (4), Amara Nadia (12), Pathan Irfan (20), SK Chand (53), SK Jakeer (35) and SK Moulali (40).
Fifteen others, who suffered serious injuries, were rushed to the primary health centres in Piduguralla, Dachepalli and Gurazala. The condition of six of them is said to be critical.
–Agencies