Mysuru: Eleven persons including six children suffered injuries yesterday when a giant gas balloon exploded at Cauverypura in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district. The group of people was making arrangements to welcome Congress President Rahul Gandhi and was filling the balloons from a cylinder, when the accident occurred. The workers from an advertising agency in Bengaluru had filled the balloon, with a giant hand (Congress) symbol, with gas and were doing trial at 4 pm near a residential area next to the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway when it exploded in air. The children who were watching the balloon received serious injuries. The injured have been identified as 28-year-old Varun from Bengaluru, 40-year-old driver Dasharath, 8-year-old Preethi, daughter of Nataraj, a resident of Old Santhe Maidan at Srirangapatna, 10-year-old Madesha, son of Kumar, 18-year-old Sindhu, daughter of Siddarama, 15-year-old Rahul, 11-year-old Shabnam, 29-year-old Kiran of T. Narasipura, 18-year-old Abhi and 27-year-old Ramesh. The identity of one more person has not yet been established.
