Two killed, six injured in gas cylinder blast in generator market

Two people lost their lives and six others were wounded due to a gas cylinder explosion near New Chali Road on Sharae Liaquat in Karachi on Tuesday.

The gas cylinder exploded with a loud bang due to a fire in a shop at a market of generators. The explosion was loud and heard miles away. The roof of the shop as well as the roof of an adjacent shop collapsed as a result. Underneath the shop’s debris, two individuals lost their lives, and six others sustained injuries.

A large number of shopkeepers gathered and started a rescue operation on their own. Soon, police, Rangers, fire brigade and volunteers from welfare organisations also reached and participated in the rescue operation.

They immediately recovered the people trapped under the debris and transported them to hospital. The firefighters also put the blaze out that had erupted following the explosion. The dead persons were identified as Razik, 45, son of Sattar, and Zulfiqar, 40, son of Yousuf while the injured persons were named as Rafiq, 35, son of Yaqoob, Nazeer, 50, son of Ghulam Hussain, Essa, 35, son of Maqsood, Aftab, 23, son of Saleem, Adnan, 25, son of Sarwar and Azad, 25, son of Abdul Waheed. They were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi for autopsies and medical treatment.

CCTV footage of the incident also emerged, showing that the explosion occurred at around 11:09am, and the dust and debris can be seen spreading far and wide. Shopkeepers accused the fire brigade department of arriving late; however, the fire brigade spokesperson said the fire department received information about the fire at around 11:15am and fire tenders were immediately dispatched to extinguish the fire. According to the spokesperson, nine fire tenders, two bowsers and one snorkel participated in the fire extinguishing work.