CNG station blast: Three injured in accidental explosion

KARACHI:

At least three people were injured in a blast at a CNG station near Drigh Road on Sharae Faisal early Friday morning.

Police officials ruled out the possibility of terrorist involvement and said that the blast occurred when a CNG compressor exploded at the station.

The loud explosion caused fear and panic, especially among residents of the area. Following the blast, police officials and volunteers from welfare organisations reached the site and shifted the victims to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment, where one of them, namely CNG station employee Waqar, was said to be in a critical condition.

Police officials said that initial investigations revealed that the blast occurred when a CNG compressor tripped. The intensity caused the walls of the compressor room to collapse and shattered the windowpanes of nearby buildings.

Residents of the area gathered at the site, asking for the CNG station to be shifted from its current location in a residential area, where it could prove harmful for its neighbours. No case has been registered, as the police believe that the blast occurred accidentally.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2014.