Birgunj, December 20
At least two people have died and two others are reported missing after an LPG bottling plant in Birgunj, southern Nepal caught fire on Wednesday morning.
The incident at Super Gas Udhyog, Birgunj-22 Patelnagar, was reported at around 6 am. Local authorities have evacuated settlements near the plant. It is not clear how many people were inside the facility when the blaze started. Firefighters and personnel from the army and police are at the scene but with gas cylinders exploding one after another, they haven’t been able to get near the incident site.
Firefighters from Raxaul on the other side of the border have also arrived at the scene and are taking stock of the situation. “This is not an ordinary incident of fire as it involves LPG. We need special chemicals to control to fire,” a police personnel told Onlinekhabar.
A Birgunj Metropolitan City fire truck deployed to douse the blaze has also caught fire. Fireman Sabin Nepal who was behind the wheels has been reported injured. Firemen Madhusudan Mishra and Yadavprasad Adhikari are missing.
A chopper was sent to Birgunj to bring the people injured in the incident to Kathmandu.
A witness at the scene told Onlinekhabar at least two bodies have been recovered from the scene so far.
