RAWALPINDI A man was killed in a gas cylinder explosion at a bus terminal near Pirwadahi Mor here on Sunday. According to details, the cylinder blew up with a loud bang when it was being offloaded at the Kainat Travels, Chowk Mehrabad. Soon after the incident, Rescue 1122, Fire Brigade, Civil Defence and police officials rushed to the scene and started rescue activities. The intensity of the blast was so high that it was heard miles away. Besides damaging the nearby parked two vehicles, the blast also caused shattering of windowpanes of the bus terminal. A good number of people also gathered there. However, law enforcers did not allow them to go near the incident place. Rescuers shifted charred body of the man who according to the shopkeepers could be driver of the vehicle from which the cylinders were being offloaded, to District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital.The pieces of the cylinders and vehicle spread meters away from the incident. Local people told the police that a large number of gas cylinders were ordered by a person Muhammad Binyamin who runs an auto workshop. However, the said shop was closed while police noted down initial information. Later, SP Potohar Kamran Adil reached the scene and viewed rescue operation and ordered police to cordon off the area. Sher Ali, a shopkeeper, told TheNation that he was sitting on the bed at 4:05pm in his room which was situated next to the shop where cylinders were being offloaded when he heard the noise of the explosion. I fall from my bed due to the intensity of the blast. When I went out, I saw thick cloud of smoke while fire had engulfed everything, he added. Then he made a call to the Rescue 1122 and they reached there immediately.