MAPUSA
A mysterious blast in a bar and restaurant on the ground floor of a two storey building in the wee hours of Sunday in Dangui Colony, Mapusa has caused damage to property but fortunately no one was injured in the incident.
The intensity of the blast, however, sent shock waves and created panic in the neighbourhood.
Police are not completely ruling out LPG-induced blast theory but said that investigations were still on. Late in the evening a forensic team and a bomb disposal squad also visited the site to ascertain the cause behind the blast.
Due to the impact of the blast the window panes of the flats on the top two floors of the building housing the bar and restaurant were damaged while a wall of a nearby house also suffered a deep crack.
At least four cars and three two-wheelers also suffered extensive damage in the incident.
So severe was the intensity of the blast that the shutter of the bar and restaurant was ripped off and flung at least 20 metres away while the window grill was similarly thrown quite a distance away.
At around 5.15 am the residents living in the flats above heard a loud sound.
“We heard a big blast. When we rushed out to find out what happened we saw all the destruction below,” said M Halarnkar, one of the residents.
Halarnkar also informed that the police and fire brigade were promptly informed about the incident but both the authorities took time to arrive, so neighbours got together to put off some small fires with buckets of water.
Later, Mapusa Police along with the Fire and Emergency Service personnel arrived at the spot.
Initial probe revealed it could be a cylinder blast but the cylinders inside the bar and restaurant were found intact.
A fire official told The Goan that one cylinder was empty and the other cylinder which was connected along with the regulator and the hose pipe were intact.
“All three condensers of one fridge and two coolers inside the bar and restaurant were also intact. Even the eggs in a tray were not damaged,” the fire official informed.
The fire official, however, informed that no fire NOC was issued to the commercial establishment (bar and restaurant) in the residential area.
“We are trying to figure out what caused the blast. We need to look at all possible angles,” a senior fire official said.
Even as Mapusa Police has registered the case as a fire accident, investigations are going on.
Mapusa DySP, Jivba Dalvi informed that police were probing the case in two or three directions.
He said the investigations so far have revealed several lapses on the part of the owners of the bar and restaurant.
“The owner was operating an AC without a stabiliser. The CCTV footage shows that the restaurant was open till 3.30 am while prima facie investigation has revealed that the licence allows them to operate till 11 pm. We will be submitting a report that the premises was violating the acts and conditions,” Dalvi said.
He further said that the police will send the cylinders to the fire department for investigation while the electricity department will also examine the premises.
“We will also write to the Factories and Boilers to check the premises,” he added.
Late in the evening the bomb disposal squad (BDS) along with the dog squad and the FSL team were at the site for more than an hour looking for any evidential material.
A spokesman of BDS informed that they will soon submit a report of their findings in the case.
