A 45 -year-old non-Bhutanese man was fatally injured when a welding gas cylinder at Wangdi engineering workshop exploded in Phuentsholing yesterday.

The man was struck by metal splits from the cylinder, which exploded around 11:30am.

The man, who runs the automobile workshop canteen with his wife, was admitted to the hospital but died about 20 minutes later due to excessive bleeding. The body has been handed over to the family across the border.

Eyewitnesses said he was coming out of the washroom when the blast occurred. Two other men were also there but they were not hurt.

Meanwhile, this incident has sparked off safety concerns once again in Phuentsholing. It is the second time that such an incident occurred at Wangdi engineering workshop, which is located in lower market.

More than a year ago, a similar same type of welding gas cylinder exploded at the same workshop. No one was hurt.

Labour officials are investigating the case and inspecting the safety measures, an official from the labour office said. The automobile workshop’s proprietor was out of station.

Rajesh Rai | Phuentsholing

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