A researcher was killed and three others sustained burns in an explosion in a laboratory at

in the city on

Wednesday.

Researcher killed, 3 others injured as cylinder explodes at IISc, Bengaluru

BENGALURU:The blast occurred around 2.30pm when 32-year-old Manoj Kumar, who died in the blast, and his colleagues were working on an experiment at the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shock Wave Research in IISc.Police said the injured researchers, Atulya Kumar, Naresh Kumar and Karthik, have been hospitalised. “Their condition is critical,” a police officer said. The four were employees of Super-Wave Technology Pvt Ltd (SWTPL), an IISc-incubated startup headed by senior scientists at the department of aerospace engineering, IISc.Preliminary probe by police and forensic experts ruled out sabotage. Investigators, who suspect a leak in a hydrogen cylinder caused the explosion, described the impact as “strong”. “It completely damaged equipment in the laboratory,” the officer said.IISc chief security officer MR Chandrashekar said Wednesday’s explosion was unprecedented.ACP (west) BK Singh, who visited IISc, said: “We do not know yet the exact cause of the explosion. Both IISc experts and our forensic staff are probing the case.”