Gas leakage: Blast in house kills three

ISLAMABAD: A blast on Friday morning caused by a suspected gas leak killed at least three people including a newborn girl and a teenaged housemaid in PWD Colony.

Police said that Laiq Ahmed, a finance director at private television station, was living in the house with his seven-member family.

Officials said that the family had left the gas heater on late on Thursday night before falling asleep. During the night, there was an interruption in gas supply but no one turned the heater off.

By morning, gas had accumulated in the house and it exploded at around 6:30 am.

The blast was so intense that it blew out the front façade of the house and caused the roof to collapse.

As a result of the explosion, Ahmed’s wife Bakhtawar, their 10-day-old daughter, and a 14-year-old housemaid were killed. Four people, including Ahmed, his son, a daughter, and mother survived with injuries.

Ahmed’s condition was described as critical while the others were said to be out of danger.

Soon after the blast, Rescue 1122, the fire brigade, and bomb disposal squad rushed to the site to rescue the inhabitants.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2017.