An accident during welding works for the JICA-assisted water supply project in Guwahati's Jyotikuchi locality led to a huge fire on Wednesday. A series of cylinder explosions were reported as one vehicle was burnt down entirely in the fire.
As per reports, the incident occurred while welding works were being carried out on the water supply pipe being laid in the locality. The gas cylinder used for the welding is thought to be the source of the fire.
The fire quickly spread causing three cylinder explosions in a short span of time. A Tata Di pickup vehicle with registration TS 15 UC 8907 and carrying the gas cylinders caught fire and was burnt down completely.
A witness said that large black fumes were coming from the vehicle. "We ran away from the scene after the vehicle caught fire as we were afraid. Large fumes of black smoke was coming from the vehicle," he said.
The driver of the vehicle said, "The vehicle belongs to the company and we only drive it to carry out orders. Today we carried the gas cylinders to be used in welding. Due to the extreme heat and I think there was some leak in one of the cylinders which soon caught fire and exploded."
Meanwhile, other cylinders that were loaded on the vehicle, were thrown out as a result of the explosion. The incident occurred at a location where previously a water pipe burst causing a gush of water.
The fire department was informed and fire tenders were rushed to the scene to douse the flames. The incident caused a traffic snarl on the stretch of road connecting Lokhra to Nepali Mandir in Guwahati.
