2 cousins killed in gas cylinder blast

Two teenage boys died in a gas cylinder explosion in Birganj upazila of Dinajpur during Durga Puja celebration on Monday night.

The deceased were cousins Simanta Pal, 17, and Prosenjit Pal, 14, of Paltapur (Kumarpara) village under the upazila.

Simanta's father Nikhil Chandra Pal is a gas balloon trader. On Monday night around 8:00pm, Simanta was inflating a balloon using gas cylinder while Prosenjit was assisting him when the cylinder exploded, leaving them severely injured.

Locals rushed them to Birganj Upazila Health Complex where both of them succumbed to their injuries, said Abdur Razzak, officer-in-charge of Birganj Police Station.

The explosion also caused damage to the family's house, the OC added.