Rawalpindi -  Two men sustained serious burn injuries when a gas blast took place here at Gulzar-e-Quaid area, while a double-storey building caught fire at Morgah area after a blast occurred in a vehicle owing to short-circuit, sources and Rescue 1122 said on Saturday.
A large number of residents of Morgah staged a protest demonstration against administration of Attock Oil Refinery (ARL) Limited by blocking vehicular movement including oil tankers at GPO Stop for not sending fire brigade to extinguish fire.
According to details, two persons got injured critically when a stove connected with a cylinder exploded with a big bang in Gulzar-e-Quaid area. The injured were identified as Zafar Ali (65) and Tariq Mehmood (55).
The blast was so powerful that it damaged the house baldy, besides smashing the windowpanes of nearby buildings, sources said.
Rescue 1122 was called in which shifted a patient Zafar to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The doctors told this scribe that the condition of patient is critical as his body received 80 percent burn injuries.
However, the second patient was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital where doctors declared his condition out of danger. The reason for blast was told to be gas leakage.
In the second incident, huge fire caught a double-storey building in Dhoke Sobedaran, Jhamra Morgah, when the CNG cylinder of a vehicle blasted with a big bang. As a result, the whole house was reduced to ashes.
However, no casualty was reported. Fear and panic gripped the locality as people came out of their houses to know reason of the blast.
According to the house owner Rafaqat, the locals immediately called in ARL Fire Brigade department but no vehicle was sent to control the fire. Later, Rescue 1122 fire brigade was called in which extinguished the fire. “My family remained safe but the house was gutted,” he said.
The irate residents of Morgah took out a protest rally against the administration of ARL from Jhamra to GPO Stop (commonly know as Company Stop) where they staged a massive protest demo and blocked road for traffic including oil tankers.
The protestors chanted slogans against the ARL fire brigade department. Sensing the situation, all the high-ups of ARL came out and negotiated with the protestors. The protestors dispersed peacefully on assurance of the high-ups that the house owner would be compensated.
The media manager of ARL was not available for his comments despite several attempts made by this scribe.