32-yr-old killed, three injured in explosion at Bengaluru's Indian Institute of Science; cylinder blast suspected, say cops

Bengaluru: A suspected cylinder blast killed a 32-year-old technician and injured three others during an experiment in a laboratory of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here Wednesday, police said. Four technicians of a private start-up company were involved in some experiment when an explosion occurred suddenly at around 2.20 pm, they said. Technician Manoj from Mysuru died on the spot while three others suffered injuries. The injured have been admitted to a private hospital where their condition was said to be stable, police said. A release from the IISc said an FIR had been registered by Sadhasghivanagar police and investigations were on. “A case of suspected blast of a cylinder was received from the laboratory of Hypersonics and Shockwave research of the Aerospace Department in the afternoon…,” it said confirming the casualties. Though the nature of explosion and its cause were yet to be established, it was suspected that the incident occurred due to a blast in a cylinder containing some gas, police said. Assistant Commissioner of Police Niranjan Raj Urs told PTI that the start-up company Superwave Technologies Private Limited was having a tie-up with the IISc for carrying out experiments pertaining to its research. “Forensic experts would ascertain the actual cause of the accident but it seems like a cylinder blast,” he said.