DHAKA: The death toll in a massive explosion on a state-owned gas pipeline running through southern India has risen to 19, officials said on Sunday, while police confirmed a case of negligence was filed against the company.

A senior official from the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh state, where the blast occurred on Friday, told media that the death toll was expected to rise further as some of the injured remained in critical condition.

‘19 people have died so far, of the 17 injured, six people have suffered 80 per cent burns,’ Vijay Kumar, a senior Andhra Pradesh police official, told media on Sunday, reports The Straits Times.

The cause of the fire on the 18-inch pipeline owned by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), which gutted scores of huts in the coastal area, is still being investigated by the state authorities.

Police said a case of negligence has been filed against GAIL based on a complaint from a local state official.

BDST: 1503 HRS, JUNE 29, 2014