Ghaziabad | More than 60 cooking gas cylinders loaded in a truck en route to Ghaziabad blew up in an explosion early Saturday, the fire department said.

The explosion was caused by a fire around 4 am, likely due to friction in the cylinders, officials said.

At least four furniture shops in the vicinity turned into ashes and some vehicles parked nearby also got burned, they said.

Chief Fire Officer Rahul Pal told PTI that it took more than eight fire tenders around 90 minutes to douse the flames. No casualties were reported.

The sound of the explosion and the consequent mayhem sent people nearby scampering to safety, with many vacating their houses.

According to officials, when the driver noticed the fire, he parked the truck near a petrol pump. Soon after, the blasts happened, and the staff deserted the pump, which was also later shut.

Eyewitnesses said a few cylinders fell into the petrol pump premises but did not explode.

Dinesh Kasana, an office bearer of the district unit of the BJP, claimed that around 100 cylinders exploded.

BJP Loni MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar demanded a probe into the blast.

"The officers of the gas refilling plant must be punished. It could be a danger to Hindon air base," he said, referring to the base situated at an aerial kilometre distance away from the blast site.

Khatuali MLA Madan Bhaiyya, who lives in Loni, expressed his concerns about the presence of three petroleum companies in the Teela Morh area. "A major accident may occur anytime."