A 19-year-old balloon worker died when a helium cylinder exploded during a freak accident at an apartment in central Bengaluru’s Langford Road on Saturday, police said.
Dinesh was filling up birthday balloons when the cylinder exploded at a flat in Langford apartments around 7.45 am.
Dinesh, a resident of Parappana Agrahara, was into selling helium balloons and would take orders online. A woman living in Langford apartments found his contact number online and ordered the balloons for a male friend’s birthday party. Dinesh was filling up the balloons at the parapet of the flat when the cylinder exploded. He sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot. His co-worker also suffered injuries.
A police officer investigating the case said the blast would have claimed three to four lives had it occurred inside the flat.
Senior police officers rushed to the spot to conduct inquiries and the jurisdictional Ashok Nagar police will take up a case. An officer refused to specify the charges to be invoked against the woman and her friend, saying no FIR has been registered as yet.
The woman and her friend told the police that they had invited only three to four people to the party and planned to celebrate it inside the flat.
Police said they found five people in the flat but were yet to establish how many had been invited to the party.