3 hurt as LPG tank explodes in Marikina

Three people were critically injured when a leaking liquefied petroleum gas tank exploded in Marikina City yesterday.

Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr., Marikina City police chief, said Rolando Soriano, 64; his housemaid, Mona Corada, 18, and carpenter Jesus Esquerdo, 40, sustained second and third-degree burns.

Soriano and Corada were rushed to the Quirino Memorial Hospital while Esquerdo was taken to the SDS Hospital, both in Quezon City.

Ramos said Soriano hired Esquerdo to repair a portion of their kitchen. Before Esquerdo started to work, Soriano dismantled the gas tank’s regulator to give the carpenter more room.

However, Soriano later reconnected the regulator so his wife, Helen, could cook lunch. Police said the regulator was not properly connected, causing the tank to leak gas.

As the fumes spread through the kitchen, the fire on the stove caused the tank to explode, Ramos said. Helen was spared because she went out of the kitchen to answer the telephone.

Except for the destroyed gas tank, Ramos said the explosion did not damage any part of the Sorianos’ house in Barangay Concepcion Uno.