LAHORE - Seven people were wounded when a gas cylinder exploded in a restaurant near Sadar Roundabout, rescue workers said on Friday.

All the seven victims are said to be young workers. They were shifted to a nearby hospital where condition of two of the injured was said to be critical till late Friday.

An employee of the restaurant told rescue workers that the blast took place due to gas leakage. The staff was busy in routine work when the cylinder exploded all of a sudden, he said. The explosion also caused fire in the kitchen.

The firefighters rushed to the spot soon after the incident and shifted the injured persons to hospital. The injured workers were identified as Liaqat, Ali, Shahbaz, Arslan, Dawood, Iqbal, and Amir. Authorities were investigating the incident.