Nashik, Dec 17 (PTI) A 15-year-old girl was killed and five persons were injured in a cylinder blast in Malegaon in Maharashtra's Nashik district on Monday, police said.

Anwarali Akbarali Sheikh (41) was filling gas into the balloons to sell at a fair in Ghodgaon village when a cylinder kept on his two-wheeler exploded, killing Sonali Gangurde on the spot, said an official.

"Sheikh was injured and so were four children in the 8-16 age group who were purchasing balloons from him. The condition of two children is serious and they have been admitted in Dhule civil hospital. Sheikh who tried to flee from the area was thrashed by villagers and handed over to the police," said the Malegaon taluka police official.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)