A gas cylinder exploded in a residential area in Ghaziabad district located on the fringes of the national capital killing one person and injuring four others.
The situation got worse as the blast caused a fire in the neighbouring areas due to which three-four other cylinders also caught the blaze on Saturday.
Police and fire officials reached the site on time but the deceased were already charred by the inferno and were declared dead in the hospital. The other people suffering from burn injuries were also rushed to the nearby hospital.
"This is a village and a lot of people here used to live as tenants. We came to know that the fire was caused due to explosion in cylinder. Due to fire this house has been burnt. One person has died and four others are in hospital and are being treated," said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ranvijay Singh.
There are speculations that illegal factory work was going on in the area following discovery of several cylinders and some manufactured products.
Singh said that they are looking into the matter and investigation is underway.