A massive fire that broke out after a gas pipeline exploded in southern India early Friday morning killed 15 people and wounded 18 others, The Hindu reported.
Officials suspect the blast in the village of Nagaram in Andhra Pradesh state's East Godavari district occurred when a pipeline owned by the state-run Gas Authority of India Limited began to leak. The resulting fire ripped through the village, burning down houses and nearby farms.
"The blast and subsequent blaze which started around 5 a.m. spread swiftly engulfing houses, coconut farms and vehicles parked in the vicinity. In 15 minutes everything was gutted," a police officer told the newspaper.
The victims included five women, three girls and a boy. Most of the bodies were recovered from the wreckage.
"Bodies of 13 people charred in the incident were recovered from the gutted houses. Two others succumbed to their burn injuries while undergoing treatment at different hospitals," Amalapuram DSP M Veera Reddy said according to The Hindu.
The 18 injured were transported to several hospitals in East Godavari for medical treatment, the Associated Press reported.
Suspicions that the pipeline was leaking at the time of the blast have not been confirmed. Several villagers allegedly reported smelling gas on Thursday night, but officials did not respond to the claims, according to The Hindu. It is not clear if GAIL officials knew of the alleged complaints.
The explosion reportedly occurred right after a vendor at a tea shop turned on a stove, triggering the blast. However the official cause of explosion has yet to be determined.
"The exact cause of the blast is not immediately known," a GAIL employee quoting the company's chairman, B.C. Tripathi, told the newspaper. "After an inquiry only we will get the details and the cause of the blast."
Andhra Pradesh state government officials will also conduct an investigation into the incident.
