Chennai, March 15 -- Two children died while seven other persons sustained burn injuries in a suspected LPG cylinder explosion at Navallur near Chennai on Sunday morning, police said.

The incident occurred around 7:40 AM at Chamundeeswarar Nagar, 3rd Street in the Navallur area along Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), where three houses were situated adjacent to each other. Residents reported hearing a loud explosion and rushed to the spot, only to find that the houses had partially collapsed.

In the blast, one-and-a-half-year-old Dheeran and four-year-old Krithika, children of Sanjay Kumar and Sonia, died on the spot.

Locals noticed several people trapped under the debris and immediately alerted the police and fire department. Personnel fr...