Hyderabad Ramanthapur Scrap Shop Explosion: Owner Critical With 50 to 70% Burns; Compressor Blast While Cutting Metal Reported

What happened

On Sunday morning, 25 October 2026, there was an explosion at a scrap shop in Church Colony, Ramanthapur, in Hyderabad, followed by a fire. The first fire call came around 11.15 am (reports give 11.12 to 11.22 am). The shop owner, a scrap dealer aged 43, was inside and was badly burnt. Reports say the blast came while metal was being cut in the shop. The shop is on the ground floor of his three-storey home-and-shop building in a crowded residential lane under the Uppal police station area (The Hans India). Updated 26 October 2026.

The injured man and the hospital

One person was hurt, and he is in critical condition in the burns ward at Gandhi Hospital (The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, Telangana Today). Reports differ on how much of his body is burnt. The Hindu and The Hans India say about 50 per cent. Deccan Chronicle, Telangana Today, Siasat and Munsif say about 70 per cent; Deccan Chronicle attributes it to a police officer, and Telangana Today to preliminary information. We show 50 to 70 per cent and do not name him. One outlet, The Hans India, also says that he was first taken to a private hospital in LB Nagar, which reportedly declined to treat him, then to a hospital at Kanchanbagh where he was reportedly not admitted, and finally to a hospital at DRDO. That differs from the others, which say he was taken straight to Gandhi Hospital, and we could not confirm it. No other casualty was reported. Four members of a family living in the adjacent building were brought out by firefighters.

What was the cause

No official cause has been announced. Deccan Chronicle says that, per reports, a used refrigerator compressor exploded while the metal-cutting work was going on, and that police suspect the scrap cutting set off the fire and that a circuit board may also have exploded. A police officer told it that a preliminary investigation points to possible negligence by the owner; we treat this as a preliminary and unconfirmed view. The Hindu says the cause was not immediately known and that senior police officers and a bomb detection squad examined the spot. The Hans India says that foam stored inside the shop helped the fire spread quickly.

Response

Two fire tenders with 12 firefighters from the Divisional Fire Office, Rangareddy-2, reached the spot, helped by the Moulali and LB Nagar fire stations (Deccan Chronicle). Divisional Fire Officer B. Keshavulu said the owner was found injured, 108 was called and he was sent to Gandhi Hospital, and the family was informed. The fire was under control by about 12.10 pm. The police and the Crime Detection Team (CLUES) visited and collected samples. A case has been registered, and the investigation will move ahead once the fire department’s report is in (Deccan Chronicle). The Hans India adds that HYDRAA and fire teams attended and that the Uppal Inspector and a sub-inspector assessed the site.

Why this matters

Scrap shops in residential lanes handle old fridges, air-conditioners, batteries and cylinders, and workers often cut or break parts with a gas cutter or a grinder. A sealed compressor, a gas cylinder or a battery can burst when it is heated or hit, and the shop is often right below a family’s home. We have covered related risks in the Saki Naka scrap godown fire in Mumbai and the Okhla oxygen-cylinder blast. On the same city, see our case on the Sigachi chemical factory explosion in Hyderabad and the Hyderabad safety guide for local emergency numbers.

Lessons for readers

• Scrap dealers: never cut, heat or hammer a sealed fridge or AC compressor, cylinder or battery. Ask a trained technician to recover the gas and the oil first, and sell such parts whole. Keep a gas cutter and a grinder away from anything that can burn or burst.
• Keep the stock separated. Foam, paper, tyres and plastic burn fast. Do not stack them near where you cut metal, and keep a clear way out. A shop under a house needs an extinguisher at the door.
• Do not do hot work in a residential building without safeguards. A blast on the ground floor puts the floors above and the neighbours at risk. Use an open yard and wear a face shield, gloves and cotton clothes.
• Neighbours: if you hear a blast, leave by the stairs, do not take a lift, and move well away from the lane. Call 112 or 101 and say what the shop stores.
• For a burn, cool the burnt skin under running tap water for 20 minutes, remove rings and loose clothes if they are not stuck, cover with a clean cloth, and send the person to a burns unit by 108. Do not apply paste, ice or oil. See our first aid guide.
• Know your numbers. Save 112, 101 and 108 using our emergency numbers guide. For workplace basics, our workplace fire safety note is a good start.

What is still not known

The cause: a compressor, a circuit board, the cutting work or something else. How much of the owner’s body is burnt (50 or 70 per cent) and whether he survives, how he was moved between hospitals, what the fire department’s report says, whether the shop had a licence or fire safeguards, and whether any action will follow. We will update this page when police or the fire department publish a finding. Last checked 26 October 2026.