One worker was killed and four others were injured after a commercial oxygen cylinder exploded at a godown in Okhla Phase I, southeast Delhi, on Wednesday morning, prompting a police investigation into licensing, storage and transportation compliance.
The Okhla Industrial Area police station received a call about the explosion at 10.43 am. Officers who reached the site found a commercial truck that had transported oxygen cylinders from Ghaziabad to the premises at D-23, Okhla Phase I.
Police said preliminary inquiries indicated that the firm had been operating as a trader and distributor of industrial oxygen cylinders from the rented premises for the past one to two years. The facility did not have an oxygen-filling plant, investigators said, and received cylinders from Ghaziabad for distribution to local traders and industries, particularly in the Okhla area.
According to the firm’s manager, the truck arrived in the morning as part of its routine supply. Workers identified as Umesh, Mohit and Pankaj were unloading and shifting the cylinders inside the godown when one cylinder fell from the vehicle onto the road and exploded.
Mohit Singh, 35, a helper and resident of Jaitpur, died at the spot. Singh was originally from Etah district in Uttar Pradesh. A relative, Vishnu, said Singh had worked as an oxygen-cylinder supplier for nearly 25 years and was the sole breadwinner for his family, which includes a 10-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter.
Four other workers—Umesh, Arvind, Manoj and Pankaj—were injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Police said the identities and medical conditions of those injured were being verified.
Investigators said the firm handled approximately 70 to 80 cylinders a day, although that figure is yet to be confirmed through stock registers, invoices and purchase records. Police are also checking the firm’s licences and permissions, cylinder ownership, and compliance with rules governing the storage and transportation of industrial oxygen cylinders.
The site has been secured. Technical and forensic teams are expected to examine the damaged cylinder, the vehicle and other evidence to establish the exact cause of the explosion. The investigation remains under way.
