Angul, March 12: At least 11 shops were gutted in fire as an LPG cylinder exploded in a hotel in Angul on Thursday.

The incident took place at Bantala Chhak under the Angul Block limit in the evening.

According to reports, the incident was triggered from an LPG cylinder of an eatery that accidentally came in contact with fire. Soon after it caught fire, the cylinder exploded and turned the eatery and at least 10 other shops into ashes.

On being informed, fire services teams rushed to the spot and tried to control the flames but in vain as the fire yet aggravated due to explosion of a few more LPG cylinders, stored in anther shop.

Local police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the reason behind the massive fire. At the same time, further investigation is underway to rule out the possibility of illegal storage of LPG cylinders in some of the shops.