Research scholar dies in IISc lab blast

A research scholar died and three were injured in a hydrogen cylinder blast at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru yesterday, police said. Manoj Kumar, 23, succumbed to severe burns after the hydrogen cylinder exploded in the aerospace department laboratory during an experiment, Additional Commissioner of Police B K Singh said. The injured were rushed to a hospital. “The incident occurred late in the afternoon in the department lab when the team was conducting an experiment in hypersonic shock waves,” Singh said. Police have registered a case against the state-run institute. “We will investigate the case after interrogating the department’s faculty and those involved in the experiment to find out how the blast occurred,” Singh added.