Gas explosion claims lives of three siblings

RAWALPINDI:

A gas explosion, purportedly due to gas cylinder leak, at a residence in Shamsabad claimed the lives of three children, while their mother and another sibling suffered 70 per cent burns. The incident took place within the limits of the Sadiqabad police station.

Area residents said that the area suffers from severe gas shortage due to which most households use gas cylinders for cooking.

The same was the case for Muhammad Shahid, who lost his three children in a fire that is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak.

Shahid’s wife Noreen Shahid, 35, was at home when the incident took place. Their three sons and two daughters were also at home.

The incident is believed to have occurred when was preparing breakfast for the five children. When she lit a match in the house, there was a loud explosion and fire engulfed the whole house.

The intensity of the explosion was so severe that the windows and doors of the house were broken, and the furniture in the house was reduced to ashes.

Area residents rushed to the scene and informed the relevant rescue authorities as well as the fire department. Witnesses said that flames were rising from the house windows and it was engulfed in thick plumes of smoke while there was zero visibility.

Rescue 1122 said their teams reached the spot with two fire tenders and two ambulances and started firefighting to extinguish the fire.

While putting out the fire, they found two children on the living room bed. They had died due to the intensity of the fire.

They found the mother and two other children, with nearly 70 per cent burns, and shifted them to the Holy Family Hospital. Another child succumbed to his wounds during treatment at the hospital.

The three children were identified as 12-year-old Alishba and eight-year-old Shahzeb and two-year-old Muhammad.

The mother and another sibling, five-year-old Fatima, are under treatment in the burn unit of the hospital.

The 1122 spokesperson said that the injured mother and daughter's body had 70 percent burns and both were in critical conditions.

The spokesperson confirmed that a leak in the gas cylinder was believed to be the cause of the accident. As the house was closed, the gas leaked throughout the night was accumulated in the house, the spokesperson said.

The spokesman added that the fire department responded in a timely manner and brought the fire under control. The buildings adjacent to the affected house were safe and the injured were immediately shifted to the hospital, they added.

Meanwhile, Sadiqabad police officials visited the scene of the incident and reviewed the situation and registered the incident report.

The police said that preliminary investigation suggested it was an accident.

They added that the children’s bodies had been handed over to the heirs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2023.