Eyewitnesses told The Express Tribune, Ijaz, the owner of the shop, was inside the building at 11am when the incident occurred.
Niaz, an eyewitness, said he heard a piercing explosion and saw Ijaz plunge out of the shop and fall on a motorbike parked outside the shop.
“The motorbike was also burnt,” Niaz said. “The roof of the shop collapsed after the explosion.”
Ijaz and a passer-by Arshad Feroz were critically injured and rushed to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital. They were later shifted to Ayub Teaching Hospital. According to doctors, both patients had suffered more than 70% burn injuries.
Firefighters reached the site and extinguished the flames from a large number of adjoining shops. However, the shop – filled with rifles, shotguns, pistols and AK-47 rifles worth thousands of rupees – was destroyed.
Locals said the explosion was of a high intensity and was heard for many miles.
Although the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, the police believe the owner lit a cigarette while cleaning pistols with a flammable spray solution that caused the fire to erupt.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2016.
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