A child was killed and six other members of a family were wounded when an explosion occurred as a result of a gas leak inside a house in New Karachi on Thursday morning.
The intensity of the blast caused the upper floor of the house to collapse, destroying part of the house.
Police and rescue workers rushed to the spot and began efforts to pull out the trapped family from the rubble. According to the police, a child's body was retrieved from the debris, while six other people, including two women and three children, were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) in critical condition.
The police said the blast ignited a fire in the house, leading the family to sustain burn injuries. The injured were shifted to the burns ward at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital after receiving first aid at ASH.
SHO Farzad Sheikh told The Express Tribune that the deceased was identified as eight-year-old Mazhar, son of Adil. Those injured in the incident included Adil, 40, his three children Anzeela, 13, Saifullah, 9, and Fazlur Rehman, 5, as well as 36-year-old Nosheen and 18-yearr-old Saba.
According to the SHO, the police were initially told that a gas cylinder had exploded in the house. However, the police later called the bomb disposal unit (BDU), which thoroughly examined the site and determined the blast was caused by a gas leak.
Inspector Abid of the BDU said it appeared that as a result of gas load-shedding, the family had disconnected the gas pipe and was instead using a cylinder. He added that while there was no evidence of a cylinder explosion, it seemed gas kept leaking from the disconnected pipe and accumulated in the house.
Further investigation is underway.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2020.
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