4 dead, 5 injured as 3 houses collapse in MP after explosion

Four women died and five others were injured after an explosion caused three houses to collapse in Madhya Pradesh's Morena city, police said on Tuesday. 

The incident took place in the city's Rathore Colony area around midnight, said Superintendent of Police Sameer Saurabh.

The body of one of the deceased women was still being extricated from under the debris, he said.

Vasudev Rathore, whose house was destroyed in the explosion and whose 28-year-old daughter-in-law was among the deceased, expressed suspicion that the blast was caused by gunpowder.

LPG cylinders were found intact during the removal of debris, he told reporters.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Bhupendra Singh Kushwaha said the reason behind the blast was yet not clear. A Forensic Science Laboratory team will be able to ascertain whether it was gunpowder or a gas cylinder that exploded, he added.

The injured persons were sent to Gwalior for further treatment, said a doctor at the Morena district hospital.