KARACHI: At least three people were killed and 17 others wounded on Monday as a two-storey building collapsed due to a gas cylinder blast in Machar Colony on Mauripur Road in Karachi.
The blast took place in a gas cylinder shop in the building. One adjacent building was partially affected and a nearby vehicle was damaged.
Police said a rescue operation was launched by rescue teams at the incident site. The Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi administration said they had received two bodies and eight injured at the hospital.
Police and rangers launched baton charge to disperse the crowd as it was creating hindrance in the rescue operation because of congested streets.
Talking to Geo News, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Keamari Arif Rao Aslam said police, rangers and rescue teams were working at the incident’s site. He said a gas cylinder shop was situated in the building that collapsed because of the blast.
He said the explosion happened during transfer of gas in the shop as a vehicle loaded with gas cylinders came to supply gas.
The police officer said three people were killed and 17 injured in the incident. The injured included two children and four women, he said.
“A fire erupted immediately after the explosion and six of the wounded people received burn injuries. Three buildings around the building that collapsed are also affected,” he said adding that the said buildings were also vacated for inspection.
The SSP Keamari said debris would be removed with the help of heavy machinery.
On October 11, an under-construction building collapsed in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony area, leaving at least three people dead and several others injured, according to police.
Following the Shah Faisal Colony incident, Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar had the next day suspended four Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) officers for their negligence.
At least three people died while 13 others were wounded on Monday after a residential building located in Karachi’s Machhar Colony collapsed due to a gas cylinder explosion, police and rescue officials said.
Separately, the police said the deceased were aged between 30 and 50 years while the injured persons included children aged three and six. The bodies and wounded people have been moved to the Civil Hospital.
According to a statement issued by the Keamari Police, the explosion occurred inside a gas cylinder shop located on the ground floor of a residential building near Bait-ul-Mukarram Masjid.
Rescue teams and police personnel have reached the spot and a rescue operation is underway, it said, adding that there were reports of several people stuck under the rubble.
Footage aired on television showed ambulances making their way through crammed lanes to reach the blast site.
In October, two persons were injured in a huge explosion that occurred inside a pizza joint in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. The police had blamed the accumulation of cooking gas for the explosion.
The deceased were identified as 45-year-old Ameen and Ulfat, whereas the identity of the third person was still unknown.
The injured were identified as Syed Noor, Alam, Hameed, Noor Hussain, Farooq Fazal Haq, Abdul Ameen and three-year-old Shahzadi. Names of three injured children and a man were not yet known.
According to the police, the explosion occurred near Bait Ul Mukarram Masjid, Jaafar Chowk, in Machhar Colony. The blast occurred when the cylinders were being shifted from a pick-up van into the shop.
SSP Arif Aslam Rao informed the media that an initial explosion in a gas cylinder led to a chain reaction, and others stored in the shop also exploded.
He added that around seven to eight people got injured after being hit by debris, whereas the rest got injured by the explosion.
The police official stated that a rescue operation was still ongoing, and it was unclear how many people were still under the rubble.
SSP Rao requested the residents around the building to stay clear of the site of the explosion, and not hinder rescue efforts.
Area residents informed the media that the owner of the building was a former councillor named Noor-ul-Islam Haqqani. Two of his daughters also lived in the building with their respective families, whereas two more families also resided there.
