Death toll in Hubbali gas cylinder blast incident rises to 5 as two more Ayyappa devotees succumb to injuries

HUBBALLI: The death toll in the LPG gas cylinder explosion incident in Hubbali has risen to five as two more Ayyappa devotees succumbed to their burn injuries while undergoing treatment in hospital. Shankar Chauhan (30) from Unkal succumbed to burn injuries, taking the death toll to five.

Shankar, a resident of Achchavva Colony in Unkal, was critically injured in the blast and had been undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of a hospital in Hubballi for the past seven days. Despite efforts, he failed to recover.

A 19-year-old youth named Lingaraj Beeranura died on Saturday. Three others, Vinita (56), Anoop (29) and Basavaraj (40), had died earlier. The incident occurred last Sunday night at Achchavva Colony in Sainagar, Hubballi, where nine Ayappa devotees were injured due to a gas cylinder blast, which caused a fire.

The remaining four are currently undergoing treatment at Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute.