Muzaffarpur PNG Pipeline Blast, Gobarsahi, Bihar: One Dead, At Least Six Hurt After Drain Digging Hits Gas Line

What happened

On Monday, 2 November 2026, a piped natural gas (PNG) pipeline was damaged while a roadside drain was being dug in the Gobarsahi-Dumri area of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, under Sadar police station limits. Eyewitnesses told reporters that a JCB machine was digging close to the buried line (PTI); Aaj Tak says a JCB and a Poclain machine were at work. The leaking gas then exploded and caught fire. Flames rose high, glass shattered in nearby houses, and the blast was heard about three kilometres away, according to PTI. Fire brigade, police and district officials reached the spot, the area was evacuated as a precaution, and a technical team of the gas company worked to close the main valve and stop the leak (Aaj Tak, Deshaj Times). Checked on the evening of 2 November 2026; the latest report we could open was published at 4.47 pm that day.

The District Magistrate said the explosion, caused by a PNG pipeline leak, claimed one life and left six others injured, all admitted to a government hospital, and that an inquiry had been ordered to find the cause and fix responsibility (PTI). A four-storey building was severely damaged, windowpanes of several houses within about 100 metres were shattered, and several vehicles were damaged.

What the sources agree on, and where they differ

• Dead: one person, as confirmed by the District Magistrate (PTI) and the sub-divisional officer (Newstrack). ETV Bharat quotes a resident saying a man passing on a motorcycle died. Some early reports spoke of more deaths; Aaj Tak’s text says two, and one report’s headline says five. Officials had not confirmed these, and that report’s own text calls the five an early figure that cannot be treated as final. We use the official figure of one, and say so.
• Injured: at least six per the District Magistrate (PTI) and five to six per the sub-divisional officer (Newstrack). Other outlets differ: more than four (Deshaj Times, NewsX), more than ten (Aaj Tak, Oneindia Hindi) and 15 (ETV Bharat). NewsX says the sub-divisional officer confirmed three with serious injuries. Aaj Tak says two were severely burned. We report “at least six, figures differ”.
• Damage: PTI describes a severely damaged four-storey building, shattered windowpanes within about 100 metres and damaged vehicles. ETV Bharat gives about 50 houses damaged, some reduced to rubble; no other outlet we opened gives a house count, so we treat that number as unconfirmed. Aaj Tak reports that one house caught fire.
• Who was digging, and whose pipeline: the reports we opened name neither the contractor or agency doing the drain work nor the company that operates the gas line. A resident-anger line in one report, that the work was done without safety coordination, is an unverified claim by residents.
• Cause: reports say the line was damaged during the digging. How exactly it was damaged, whether a permit or pipeline map was used, and who is responsible are the subject of the inquiry. A forensic science team reached the site about four hours after the blast, according to NewsX.

A similar leak in the same district in July

On Friday, 17 July 2026, a PNG line was damaged near Rahua village in Musahari block of Muzaffarpur district while a drain was being built by the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation. Patna Press reported that five schoolgirls were taken ill, and Navbharat Live said seven fainted, with five sent to a medical college. Gas was shut off and repairs began. Neither report mentions a blast or a death. We could not find a published outcome of that inquiry, and we do not link the two events beyond saying that both involve digging near a PNG line in the same district.

What is not known

• The exact time of the blast, and how long the leak ran before it ignited.
• The final number of injured and their condition, and whether anyone else died of burns later.
• The identity of the contractor or agency and of the gas company, and whether any permit, pipeline map or supervision was in place.
• Whether an FIR, arrest or other action has followed. None was reported in the articles we opened.
• How many houses were damaged. Only one outlet gives a figure.
• The findings of the inquiry ordered by the District Magistrate.

What this means for people who live near digging work

No official advisory for this incident was found, so what follows is general safety practice, not an order.

Live or work in Muzaffarpur? Our Muzaffarpur safety guide lists the emergency numbers, the district fire stations and the main local risks.

Our guide on what to do in an LPG or gas leak carries more detail.

• Before digging: contractors and civic agencies should ask the gas distributor for the pipeline route, mark it on the ground, and hand-dig near it instead of using a machine. A person should watch the trench while the machine works. The gas company’s emergency number should be known on site.
• If you smell gas or hear hissing near a dig: stop the machine, move well away on the upwind side and do not run the engine, light a flame, or flick switches nearby. Warn others to leave, and call the gas company and 112 from a safe distance. Natural gas is lighter than air and disperses upward, but it can still collect in drains, basements and closed shops.
• If the gas catches fire: do not go close. Call 101 for the fire brigade and 112 for police, and 102 for an ambulance. Which number to call explains the national numbers, and our note on the fire brigade number explains what to say.
• Residents: if a dig is going on outside your home, ask who is responsible and whether the gas line has been marked. Note the name of the agency and report concerns to the municipal office or the gas distributor, whose number is on your gas bill if you are a PNG customer.
• After an explosion: keep lanes clear for fire engines and ambulances. Do not crowd the site and do not share pictures of the injured or dead.

For another gas-leak fire in Bihar, see the Gopalganj LPG leak fire in Safiyabad.