Around 3,000 LPG cylinders were swept into the Patalganga River after heavy rainfall flooded the HPCL Patalganga LPG Bottling Plant in Maharashtra's Raigad district, NDTV reported.
The incident occurred after torrential monsoon rains caused floodwaters to breach the plant's protective boundary wall, allowing water to rush into the facility and carry away the cylinders.
ALSO READ | Delhi-NCR Rains: Roads Flooded, Traffic Crawls As Heavy Showers Lash Capital; IMD Issues Red Alert
NDTV cited officials saying that the cylinders were washed into the Patalganga River and the nearby Kharpada Creek. The cylinders included both filled and empty LPG cylinders, raising significant safety concerns because authorities could not immediately determine which ones still contained gas.
Videos shared on social media, including by ANI, showed hundreds of red LPG cylinders floating downstream in the swollen river. The visuals quickly went viral, with many bystanders recording the unusual scene from a nearby bridge.
Raigad Collector Kishan Jawale urged residents not to touch, collect, transport or attempt to use any cylinder found in or near the river, warning that doing so could result in a serious accident. The Collector appealed to members of the public to hand over any recovered cylinders to HPCL or the local administration instead of keeping them.
According to the district administration, the recovered cylinders can be deposited at the HPCL Patalganga Plant, any nearby HPCL distributor, the Tehsildar Office in Khalapur or other designated offices of the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO).
According to officials quoted by the local media, around 1,000 cylinders had been recovered by the time initial reports were published, while efforts to trace the remaining cylinders continued.
ALSO READ | Heavy Rains In Mumbai Disrupt Train Services, Divert Nine Flights, Two Lakes Overflow
The flooding was triggered by heavy rainfall in the Rasayani industrial area of Raigad. Authorities said that teams continued monitoring the river and surrounding areas amidst persistent rainfall and urged people to immediately inform the administration if they spotted any drifting or stranded LPG cylinders.
Some reports claimed that people attempted to retrieve floating cylinders despite repeated warnings from the administration. Officials reiterated that residents should stay away from the cylinders until they are safely recovered by authorities.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.