Gas cylinder blast kills five of a family

A gas cylinder explosion at an LPG shop on Ravi Road claimed the lives of five members of a family, including three children, and left seven other people injured, two of them critically.

The blast occurred while workers were filling cylinders in the shop on the ground floor, destroying the three-story building and damaging nearby structures.

Rescue 1122 and Edhi volunteer teams worked through the night to retrieve the victims from the rubble, transporting the deceased to a mortuary and the injured to Mayo Hospital for treatment.

According to officials, the force of the explosion sent debris flying up to 200 metres, highlighting the dangerous conditions at the commercial establishment located in a residential area.

The DIG operations immediately ordered city-wide safety inspections of all LPG outlets, vowing to crack down on illegal gas shops operating without proper safety measures.