Muscat, May 19 -- In a tragic incident, an Oman-based Indian expat couple died in an explosion caused by a gas cylinder at a restaurant in Bousher district.

The victims have been identified as 59-year-old Pankajakshan and his wife, 53-year-old Shajitha, both originally from Kannur in the southern Indian state of Kerala. They were working as accountants for a private company in Muscat.

According to preliminary findings by the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA), the explosion-suspected to have been caused by a gas leak in the restaurant's kitchen-led to a partial collapse of the residential-commercial building where the couple lived. The incident occurred on Saturday, May 17.

The couple, who had lived in Oman for more than 30 y...