Locals said that the sound of the explosion washeard several kilometers away.
Six members of a family were killed after a house collapsed due to a cylinder explosion in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr on Monday evening, officials said. Eight people, including five children, were also injured in the incident that took place around 9 pm in the Ashapuri Colony of Sikandrabad. The injured persons, who were taken out of the debris, are being treated at a hospital.
The victims have been identified as Dhevati Hivja, Riyazuddin, his wife Rukhsana, their sons Salman and Aas Mohammad, and daughter Tamanna.
According to the police, the cylinder explosion was so powerful that the bricks and lintel of the house were blown away.
Locals said that the sound of the explosion was heard several kilometers away and the nearby houses were also shaken up.
Teams of the fire brigade, police department, municipal corporation, medical, and NDRF immediately reached the spot to carry out the rescue operations, officials said. Visuals of the rescue operation shared by news agency ANI show the teams trying to rescue people by removing the debris with a JCB.
"A cylinder blast occurred at a house in Ashapuri colony. There were 18 to19 people in the house, out of which eight people were rescued whose condition is very critical," Chandra Prakash Paryadarshi, City Magistrate Bulandshahr told ANI.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. He also took cognizance of the incident and instructed officials to immediately carry out relief and rescue work and provide all possible to the families of the victims.
The reason for the blast is being investigated, the police said.