‘How to tell wife, kids’: 3 CNG station staffers killed as truck tank explodes

Three employees at a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station in Outer Delhi's Tikri Kalan area succumbed to their injuries after a gas tank explosion while refueling a truck on Wednesday afternoon. Three other individuals were also injured in the incident. The employees' families allege that they were not promptly taken to the hospital despite the severity of their injuries until they reached the scene.

The fuel station had reportedly been closed for repairs due to recurring CNG leak issues, according to family claims. However, police have yet to confirm if the blast resulted from a malfunction in the vehicle or a leak in the CNG system. Authorities are set to register a case based on the findings of the investigation, according to the police.

The explosion was reported at 3:47 pm at a CNG pump near Tikri Kalan Metro station. Fire tenders arrived at the site shortly after, and the station was subsequently cordoned off. The deceased employees were identified as Manish, Brahamjeet, and Sunny. Manish, 25, a resident of Baba Haridas Colony in West Delhi, was the one refueling the truck at the time of the explosion.

His family claims Manish had been vocal about the station's recurring CNG leak problems, and he had only been working at the station for eight months. Brahamjeet, whose nephew Aditya arrived at the scene around 4:30 pm, was critically injured and taken to Jeevan Jyoti Hospital. Sunny, 30, had been employed at the station for three years and was the sole provider for his family, which included his widowed sister-in-law and her children. The explosion also damaged a scooter and an Eco car.