Low gas pressure kills 3 in Quetta

Unknown persons blew up gas pipeline in Sui disrupting gas supply to the province.

QUETTA: Gas supply to Balochistan remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Tuesday and low gas pressure claimed lives of three more people in Quetta, who suffocated to death.

Unknown persons had blown up an 18-inch high pressure gas pipeline in Sui on late Sunday night disrupting gas supply to the province. “The technicians have completed the repair work on Tuesday and it will take two days to completely restore the supply,” Haroon Rashid, General Manager SSGC Balochistan told The Express Tribune.

According to police, three persons identified as Mumtaz Ali, Kamal Khan and Bilawal in Killi Baro on Sariab Road left the heater on before going to bed.  The heater went off due to low gas pressure in the middle of the night but gas supply suddenly improved filling the room with poisonous gas.  Resultantly they died of asphyxia.

The bodies were taken to the civil hospital for autopsy. Later the bodies were handed over to their relatives for burial.

As many as 20 people died of suffocation in and around Quetta during this winter. People often switch on their heater to warm the room and it goes off due to low gas pressure when people fell asleep which result in deadly incidents.

SSGC supply gas to 12 out of 30 districts of Balochistan and the residents of these areas are deprived of natural gas after unknown persons attacked the main pipeline. It was the fourth incident during the past one month that militants had targeted gas pipeline.

There was low gas pressure in Quetta and adjacent townships on Tuesday which caused inconvenience to the consumers who are dealing with biting cold as temperature dropped below freezing point.

Responding to the query Rashid said gas pressure will remain low for two more days because of the incident.