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Saturday September 07, 2024

Another two injured in Hyderabad cylinder blast incident die

By Aftab Ahmed
June 03, 2024
A firefighter douses water in an attempt to extinguish fire at LPG gas shop after cylinder explosion in Hyderabads Paretabad area on May 30, 2024. — INP
A firefighter douses water in an attempt to extinguish fire at LPG gas shop after cylinder explosion in Hyderabad's Paretabad area on May 30, 2024. — INP

The death toll of the cylinder blast in the Preetabad area of Hyderabad has reached 11 as two more injured, 40-year-old Faizan Ishaq and four-year-old Ali Raza, succumbed to their injuries at the burns ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi. on Sunday.

The funeral prayers for Ishaq were offered at 4pm at the Faizan Madina Affandi Town, after which he was buried at a local graveyard. Later, Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abidin Memon confirmed that the four-year-old Ali, son of Bilal, had also succumbed to his injuries.

Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro on Sunday went to Preetabad to offer condolences with the relatives of the victims. He expressed deep sorrow over the tragic deaths and informed the bereaved families that the Sindh government had announced Rs1 million as compensation for the family of each deceased person and Rs500,000 for each injured.

Later, the Hyderabad mayor went to the burns ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi, where he enquired after the injured persons receiving treatment. Nawabshah Mayor Qazi Abdul Rasheed, Town Municipal Corporation Nerun Kot Chairman Manthar Jatoi, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Farid Qureshi and Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Municipal Commissioner Jam Zahoor Ahmed Lakhan accompanied Shoro during the visit.

The tragic explosion occurred on Thursday at a shop of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders in the Preetabad area of Hyderabad. When people moved towards the shop to put out the fire after the first blast at 6pm, another loud explosion took place, which engulfed the shop in flames and caused fires in some adjacent houses and shops in the densely populated area of the city.

Initially, two deaths and 49 injuries were reported. Those with serious injuries were shifted to the Civil Hospital Hyderabad, Combined Military Hospital and Civil Hospital Karachi.

According to eyewitnesses, one of the fires also burned a rickshaw and injured several passers-by. People sitting in houses around the shop suffered burn injuries as well. They said the fire brigade reached the scene 40 minutes after the first explosion.