Death toll in Hyderabad cylinder blast reaches nine

HYDERABAD: The death toll from the May 30 twin blasts at a shop of gas cylinders in Hyderabad’s densely populated Preetabad area rose to nine on Saturday.

Azan Raees, 12, and Zulfiqar Ali Solangi, 35, who were among the dozens of injured casualties, have also breathed their last, according to Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abideen Memon.

Raees belonged to Preetabad, while Solangi hailed from District Naushahro Feroze. Solangi worked for a police officer. He was out to buy milk in Preetabad’s Sakhi Peer area when the explosions had occurred.

DC Memon said that the condition of 16 of the injured receiving treatment at Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi is said to be very critical.

He said that the correspondence for the assistance of the affected persons has been completed, and a recommendation would be made to the chief minister soon.

Even though two days have passed since the incident, the FIR has not been registered yet. Pinyari SHO Liaquat Ali said that the families of the deceased and injured have been told to file a complaint, but they are currently occupied, so the FIR has not been registered.

Due to no gas connection in thousands of homes in Hyderabad, and several hours of shutdown on a daily basis, people use LPG gas cylinders for their cooking needs.

However, since the district administration had sealed 48 LPG shops on Friday, the shops could not open on Saturday. Therefore, residents headed to the outskirts of the city for getting their cylinders refilled.

To express solidarity with the blast victims, traders across Hyderabad opened their businesses after 2pm. Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Adeel Ahmad Siddiqui and other business leaders visited Preetabad to offer their condolences to the victims’ families.