Two have died and six have been injured in a blast at Sagarmatha Oxygen Gas Plant located inside Patan Industrial Estate.
According to operator Saroj Singh, the blast took place after the oxygen cylinders were filled at 9:55 am.
Brij Mahato, 45, of West Champakaran, India, died on the spot in the explosion and Raj Kumar Mahato, 25, a resident of India and currently residing in Lalitpur Metropolitan-18 lost his life during the treatment. SP Siddhi Bikram Shah, of Lalitpur Metropolitan Range, informed that Patan hospital has verified their death.
Gangaraj Sharma, 49, of Chandragiri Municipality-2 has been severely injured and is being treated at B&B hospital.
Likewise, Ramesh Adhikari, 43, of Chagathali, Mahalakshmi Municipality-7, Durga Puri, 36, of Mahalakshmi Municipality-8, Sudip Timilsena, 19, of Godavari Municipality-9, Ishwar Bajgain, 22, of Mahankal Rural Municipality-5, Chandanpur and Anjana Poudel, 20, of Okhaldhunga currently residing at Mahalakshmisthan in Lalitpur Metropolitan City-5 were also injured and were discharged after treatment at Patan Hospital.
SP Shah further added that the team of Nepal Police has been conducting the initial investigation at the incident spot and a detailed investigation will be followed for further information regarding the blast.
The Chief District Officer of Lalitpur, Ghanshyam Upadhyay stated that no further damage was reported as there was no fire after the blast.
He said, ‘We cannot state the exact loss immediately. We will figure it out after the investigation.’ He further added, ‘Even the windows of the neighbouring houses have also shattered.’
Similarly, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Dilendra Badu who had gone for the observation the incident ensured that relief will be immediately provided by the government to the victims of the blast.
He said that the government would keep the incident in priority and expert technicians will be called for an investigation.
According to plant operator Narayan Dutta Timalsina, it is difficult to ascertain how the incident took place, so the experts will conduct proper research to come up with the conclusion.