Over 100 people have died, Chief Medical Office Dr Arun Sharma confirmed, and close to 80 others are reported injured in a gas explosion in a hotel in Patelabad region of Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning.
According to a report by The Economic Times, the death toll has risen to 104.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan said bodies of 76 persons have been identified. Announcing the completion of rescue operation, Chouhan said about 50 injured people are being treated at different hospitals here. The government has also decided to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incident, the CM’s official twitter handle said.
An LPG cylinder was believed to have exploded in a hotel named Sethia Hotel in the region.
But Jhabua Sub-Divisional Officer of Police confirmed that the blast in the morning was a detonator blast.
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the dead, and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
The CM has sent state Home Minister, Principal Secretary, State Director General of Police to the blast site.
(With agency inputs)
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