Unfortunate accident in Bingöl: Injured while checking for a gas leak

Ali Besili, who lives in Istanbul and had arrived 5 days ago at his summer house in Demiroluk village in the Adaklı district of his hometown Bingöl with his wife Nebat, wanted to prepare tea on the kitchen stove to shake off the fatigue of the journey, but when he checked the cylinder valve, no gas was coming out. Besili decided to check if there was a gas leak in the cylinder, this time using a lighter. At that moment, a flare-up occurred due to gas accumulation, and a fire broke out in the kitchen part of the house. Seriously injured by the fire and the flare-up, Besili made a great effort to move the kitchen cylinder outside.

After the fire in the house was extinguished with the help of neighbors, Besili was taken to Bingöl State Hospital, and after the intervention there, he was referred to the Erzurum City Hospital Burn Treatment Center.

Besili, who sustained 2nd and 3rd-degree burns on his face, head, right hand, and some parts of his body, is continuing his treatment.

Ali Besili said he was very saddened by the unfortunate incident that happened to him. Explaining that they were settling their belongings into the village house with his wife, Besili continued as follows:

"My wife said, 'We came from the road, we are tired, put the kettle on, let's have breakfast.' Then I put water in the teapot and turned on the stove, but it didn't light. I tried 3-4 times and it didn't work. Then I tried to open the cylinder, I shook it to check if it was full or empty, but it still didn't light. Then, when I checked the cylinder valve, I could hear the sound of gas, but the stove wasn't lighting. I wanted to check for a gas leak in the cylinder with a lighter; when I lit the lighter, there was a loud noise, a flare-up occurred, and a fire broke out."

Stating that a fire subsequently broke out in the kitchen, Besili reported that he was able to put the cylinder inside the kitchen cabinet onto the balcony after a long struggle.

Expressing that the plastic balcony door caught fire in a short time, Besili said, "When the door caught fire, all the flames surrounded me, then I left the cylinder and ran away. I wanted to save myself; I was afraid the cylinder would explode. The neighbors extinguished the fire. In that state, I didn't feel any pain at all."

Expressing that he could never forget the nightmare-filled event he experienced, Besili noted the following:

"The hospital services and our doctors are very good, may God be pleased with them; they take very good care of the patients. My treatment is going well. If I had known there was a gas leak, I wouldn't have done such a thing; there was a problem with the cylinder head. I wanted to check by holding the lighter towards the cylinder head from a distance, not close up; as soon as I lit the lighter, there was a 'boom' and a flare-up."

Burn Treatment Center doctor Onur Ceylan also stated that Besili, who sustained 2nd and 3rd-degree deep flame burns on various parts of his body, is continuing his medical and dressing treatments, and reminded that open flame sources such as lighters and matches should not be used in case of a suspected gas leak.