Suspected LPG gas explosion injures three

MAKASSAR: In the latest of a series of nationwide explosions, three people in Makassar were taken to the hospital for burns suffered when an allegedly faulty 3-kilogram Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) canister exploded Tuesday.

The people rushed to the hospital were Kartini, 27, who suffered burns to most of her body; Hajrah, 32, who suffered burns on his foot and lacerations to his nose and mouth from a falling cupboard and Wahyu, 9, who had burn-related scarring on his lips and blistering on his feet.

The explosion was reported to have occurred at 3 a.m., when people were preparing sahur, the pre-dawn meal consumed during the Ramadan fasting month. Witnesses said they heard the explosion and felt a tremor so strong that they thought an earthquake was happening.

“I thought it was an earthquake because the houses were shaking and things were falling,” Wanti, a neighbor, said.

The explosion caused serious damage to the two-story house that contained the cylinder and caused its front to collapse. — JP