At least nine persons were injured, two of them critically, as a major fire broke out at a petrol pump near the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday.

Sources said the fire suddenly broke out inside one of the three underground liquid chambers when LPG was being transferred from a truck around 1pm. The gas chamber exploded, blowing away its cover and the roof of the petrol pump.

Mutilated body parts like ears and fingers were strewn around the petrol pump in the wake of the fire that followed the blast.

The sound of the blast was heard around 3km from the spot and many buildings in the nearby areas developed cracks. Even the glass panes inside the Raj Bhavan suffered damage.

The Raj Bhavan boundary wall is only 50 metres from the petrol pump and the main building housing the governor and his staff is around 200m away. However, more than 100 deer in the deer parks inside the Raj Bhavan are safe.

The two critically injured persons have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where they are said to be battling for their lives.

Binod Prasad Das, an eyewitness, said, “I was filling petrol at the pump when there was a sudden blast. It felt like an earthquake and there was a tremor. The roof of the building was blown away. I ran for my life, leaving my Scooty at the spot. Nearly 10 to 15 customers were present at the petrol pump when the blast occurred. Everyone ran away.”

Another eyewitness said, “I don’t know how I survived. I just ran. The noise was deafening.”

More than seven fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the blaze and the firemen took around three hours to bring the situation under control.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced free medical treatment for the injured and Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan ordered a probe into the incident. Pradhan asked the ministry secretary to talk to Odisha Indian Oil and state government officials and submit a report as soon as possible.

Police commissioner Sudhanshu Sarangri, who rushed to the spot, said, “We will lodge a criminal case. The forensic team is on the spot. The situation has been brought under control. So far no casualties have been reported. We have to contact the hospitals to know about the condition of the injured people. All precautionary measures have been initiated so that there is no spread of fire to the underground petrol reserve at the pump.”