In a shocking incident, gas-filled balloons led to an explosion in the lift of a building in Goregaon. The three people in the lift had a miraculous escape. The incident, which took place on February 2
in Goregaon West area of Mumbai in Anmol Tower, has been captured on CCTV camera. The CCTV footage, shows a woman entering the lift. At that time, a young man carrying the balloons and another man enter. Within a few seconds, the balloons burst, causing an explosion. Amid the flames, the three occupants of the lift manage to escape as the door was still to shut.
Why carrying gas-filled balloons in lift is dangerous
Lift is essentially a sealed metal pressure cooker with electrical components. If a hydrogen balloon is inside, you are one tiny spark away from a serious accident.
Hydrogen doesn’t just burn; it combusts rapidly. If one balloon pops near the lift’s control panel or a light fixture, the gas escapes. Because hydrogen is the lightest element, it hits the ceiling of the lift and stays there. A single spark from the lift buttons or static from your clothes can ignite it, creating a “fireball” that fills the small cabin in milliseconds.
Lifts are small, enclosed volumes. When gas ignites, it expands violently. In an open room, the pressure dissipates. In a lift, the pressure wave is trapped. This can cause permanent eardrum damage to anyone inside and can even jam the lift doors, trapping you inside a smoke-filled cabin.
Lifts are breeding grounds for static.
If the balloons don’t explode but simply leak — in a stalled lift (which has limited ventilation), the escaping gas replaces the breathable oxygen. While hydrogen isn’t “poisonous”, it is an asphyxiant, which means it can make you lose consciousness.
Under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, any activity that jeopardises the safety of occupants in a high-rise is prohibited. Transporting flammable gas in a lift — an enclosed electrical environment — falls under this.
