At least 85 people were killed when a cooking gas cylinder blew up in a crowded restaurant in central India on Saturday, triggering a second blast of construction detonators stored illegally nearby, police said.
The explosions tore through the restaurant as people sat down for breakfast during the morning rush hour in the town of Petlawad, about 800km south of New Delhi, local police Inspector BL Gaur said.
He said people who had gathered outside the restaurant after the initial blast were caught in a second explosion when gelatin sticks stored in a nearby building caught light, blew up and buried scores of people as the roof caved in.
“When the first blast took place in the gas cylinder many people collected there to watch and see what had happened. Then there was a secondary blast,” Gaur said, adding the explosion was so powerful it damaged adjacent buildings and ripped out nearby windows.
Bodies lay amid the rubble of the collapsed restaurant and twisted motorcycles and debris were strewn outside, as a crowd of onlookers searched for survivors.
Around 100 people were also injured in the blast, Arun Sharma, a local medical officer, said.
The accident is one the deadliest to hit India in recent years.
