One dies, 20 injured in gas explosion

LAHORE:At least one person died and 20 people suffered injuries Friday when a building of a private bank collapsed due to a gas explosion in the Chauburji area.

Routine activities in the bank and the surrounding area were going on when the sudden huge explosion occurred. As a result, the building of the bank collapsed and the shards of windowpanes hit the victims.

At least one person died while 20 people were injured in the incident. Nearby people called rescue teams who evacuated the victims and shifted them to Services Hospital, Mayo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The injured shifted to Services Hospital included Muhammad Ghalib, 46, Muhammad Nawaz, 50, Asad Mumtaz, 28, Waqas Amanat, 24, Arshad Ahsan, 30, Iqrar Abbas, 45, Ghulam Mohiyuddin, 28 and Dilawar Yamin, 50. The victims shifted to Mayo Hospital included Waheed Ali, 20, Muzammil, 22, Manzoor Muneer, 37, Siddique, 80, Ghulam Hussain, M Sadiq, Mazhar Munir and Ahmed.

The injured shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital included Saqib Abbas, Pervaiz Gill, Zeeshan Lodhi, M Afzal, Tanveer, Rashid, Habib and Asharf. The condition of three victims was stated to be critical. The incident created panic in the locality.

"It looks as if this is an explosion that occurred due to a gas leakage," said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Lahore Ashfaq Khan, adding that the facts will come to fore after a thorough investigation into it.

The team of police, rescue, Counter-Terrorism Department, investigation wings reached the spot and collected evidence. DIG Lahore Ashfaq Khan, SSP Operations Faisal Shahzad and SSP Iqbal Town also reached the spot.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) said that no gas connection in the bank building is installed. “And our 2" dia line passes 30 feet away from the bank building. No fire incidence happened there, thus, the blast cannot be linked with the malfunctioning in gas supply,” the spokesperson said. Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar sought a report from the capital city police officer (CCPO) Lahore on the incident. According to a handout issued here, he also directed the authorities concerned to provide best treatment facilities to the injured. The chief minister directed that a comprehensive investigation be held to ascertain the facts.