Engineer Dies After Explosion Inside IISc Lab in Bengaluru

Thirty-two-year-old Manoj K, a native of Hyderabad, died after a Hydrogen cylinder exploded.

IISc Bangalore.

(Photo Courtesy: ENVIS)

One aerospace engineer was killed and three others were injured on Wednesday after a Hydrogen cylinder exploded inside the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bengaluru. He has been identified as 32-year-old Manoj K, who was a native of Hyderabad.

“Around 2:20 pm, in one of our aerospace laboratories which is called Hypersonic and Shockwave Research (LHSR), there was an explosion which resulted in the death of one engineer working with a startup called Super-wave Technology. At this moment, two of the proprietors of the company are being interrogated by police.” 

MR Chandrasekhar, Chief Security Officer of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru to the TNM.

Kartik, Adulya and Naresh Kumar are grievously injured and are currently being treated at the MS Ramaiah Hospitals, police officials said.

Sadashivanagar Police Station is yet to file a First Information Report in the case and are in the process of establishing if it was an accident.

According to its website, Super-wave Technology Private Limited (SWTPL) is an Indian Institute of Science initiative, promoted and managed by its directors, Professors KPJ Reddy and G Jagadeesh, both professors in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the IISc.

The company was exploring new techniques to extract gas using their shockwave technology and had got an agreement signed with the government-run Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in 2015.

Other usages that the company is exploring include genetic material manipulations with injectables, assisted insemination in cows; and mechanised drying of leaves and other green products for industrial processes.