Sohail Khan/Atif Khakwani-BAHAWALNAGAR-Six persons including a woman along with her two daughters and a son were killed and 11 others sustained injuries after Sui gas pipeline exploded with a bag due to leakage here on Tuesday.
The police said that the explosion occurred in a house situated on Circular Road here in Bahawalnagar city.
The two-storey house razed to ground to the blast while the two adjacent houses damaged severely, the police and rescuers said.
According to police and Rescue 1122, a gas pipeline exploded due to leakage on ground floor of a house owned by Wazir Ahmed, a court clerk. As a result, six persons including his wife Muneerah Bibi, 20, her five-year-old daughter Benish, son 12-year-old Zaheer Ahmed, another daughter Goshi, 4; Attia, daughter of Abdul Ghaffar and Bashir Ahmed died while eleven others sustained injuries. The explosion was so loud that the adjacent buildings were also affected adversely. The rescue teams rushed to the spot and started rescue work. Rescue 1122, Army officials and volunteers of Falah-e-Insaniate Foundation pulled out the injured and dead bodies and shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Bahawalnagar. Later, four the injured persons were referred to Bahawalpur and Lahore due to critical condition. The hospital sources fear the death toll could rise. The police said that real cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.
The rescue said the incident occurred due gas leakage in the ground floor of a two-storey residential building which was razed to the ground while the two adjacent buildings also damage severely. The blast took place around 2:20pm.
DC Azhar Hayat, DPO Liaqat Ali Malik, ADC Rana Amjad, DO Civil Defence Mirza Siddique and staff of other agencies also rushed to the scene immediately after the blast. The rescue crane, excavator and tractors reached the scene a little late, which angered the residents.
Sensing urgency of the situation, DC Azhar Hayat called in Pakistan army personnel who rushed to the spot in no time. The army personnel along with Rescue 1122 rescuers and volunteers completed the operation.