Pressure of ‘oil vapours’ causes explosion at Jammu fuel station, no casualties: Police

Jammu, May 2 (PTI) an explosion occurred at a fuel station in the busy Narwal area here on Tuesday due to the pressure of oil vapours under a manhole, a senior police officer said.

No one was injured the incident, and police and experts from the oil company are still inspecting the site.

Panic gripped Narwal, where Jammu and Kashmir’s biggest fruit and vegetable wholesale market is located, following the explosion around 10:50 am. The blast damaged a portion of the fuel station’s floor and a nearby structure housing the front office of a bank.

“Initial investigations reveal that during the process of oil pumping under the (station’s) manhole there remained pressure of oil vapours which became the cause of the explosion,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu, Chandan Kohli, said in the evening.

Earlier, police and the fuel station’s owner had said the blast took place after a short circuit in the underground power board.

Immediately after the explosion, police rushed to the site and cordoned the area.

The fuel station’s owner, Sanjeev Kumar, had said it is suspected that the short circuit happened after rainwater leaked into the underground power board.

Sub Divisional Police Officer, Jammu East, Zaheer Abbas Jafri also quoting preliminary investigations had said the explosion was caused by a short circuit.

“The owner of the petrol pump told us that the blast was caused by a short circuit. We have also seen that electric wiring has been damaged,” he said, ruling out any foul play or a terror angle.

The petrol pump’s employees said there were no customers at the pump when the incident happened.