Nearly 3,000 LPG cylinders were swept away into the Patalganga River after floodwaters breached the boundary wall of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's (HPCL) Patalganga LPG Bottling Plant in Maharashtra's Raigad district following incessant heavy rainfall. The incident has sparked serious safety concerns, with authorities urging residents to stay away from any cylinders found floating in water or washed ashore.
According to officials, relentless rainfall triggered severe flooding inside the LPG bottling facility located in Chavane village of Panvel taluka. As water levels rose rapidly, the force of the flood breached the plant's boundary wall, allowing thousands of both filled and empty LPG cylinders to be carried away by strong currents into the Patalganga River and the adjoining Kharpada Creek.
Several videos showing hundreds of LPG cylinders drifting downstream have gone viral on social media, drawing widespread attention and raising concerns over the potential risks posed by the floating cylinders. Authorities fear that some of the cylinders may still contain liquefied petroleum gas, making them vulnerable to leaks and increasing the possibility of fire or explosions if mishandled.
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Raigad District Collector Kishan Jawale has appealed to the public not to approach, collect or attempt to move any cylinders found in the river or along the banks. He advised residents to immediately inform the authorities if they spot any cylinders and warned that handling them without proper precautions could be extremely dangerous.
The district administration has instructed citizens to hand over any recovered cylinders only to HPCL officials, the nearest authorised HPCL distributor, or designated government authorities. Officials have also urged people not to circulate misinformation or attempt to retrieve the cylinders on their own.
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and have launched a large-scale recovery operation to trace and retrieve the missing cylinders from the river and surrounding areas. Emergency teams are coordinating with HPCL and local agencies as heavy rainfall continues to lash several parts of Maharashtra, making recovery efforts more challenging.
The incident has once again highlighted the vulnerability of industrial infrastructure to extreme weather events during the monsoon season and underscored the need for stronger flood preparedness measures to protect critical facilities and prevent similar incidents in the future.
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