Death toll in Hubballi LPG cylinder blast cases rises to eight

HUBBALLI: Another injured Ayyappa devotee among the nine who had sustained burns, died on Tuesday. The devotees had suffered burns after a cylinder blast at a temple in Achchavan Colony. With this, the death toll has been raised to eight. The deceased has been identified as Prakash Baraker (42).

Nine Ayyappa were injured in the incident and were admitted to KIMS Hospital. Despite timely treatment, eight of them have died. The only survivor is 12-year-old Vinayak Baraker, who is expected to be discharged from the hospital in two to three days.

The incident occurred last Sunday morning at the Ishwar temple at Achchavan Colony in Hubballi. The district administration took the case seriously and arranged for expert doctors from Bengaluru to treat the injured. However, despite their best efforts, the doctors were unable to save the lives of eight devotees.

The government has borne the cost of treatment for all the injured and has provided a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.