Gas line leak leads to explosion inside Civil hospital laboratory

KARACHI: A gas leak caused an explosion inside the central laboratory of Civil Hospital, Karachi, on Monday morning.

The laboratory was temporarily shut down after the incident and patients had to wait for test results.

According to sources, the Sui gas line passing through the lab developed a leak one week ago. The hospital administration alerted the gas company but it failed to send help on time.

The explosion destroyed two microscope machines, a computer, an air-conditioner, window panes and doors, and the inside walls of the laboratory. The windows in the doctors’ duty room also broke down. The administration claimed that the losses are estimated at around Rs1 million.

The explosion was so loud that it caused panic among patients, who evacuated their wards for safety.

Medical Superintendent Professor Saeed Qureshi said that the central laboratory was established by the students of Dow Medical College and they are trying to estimate the losses so that the relevant officials can be contacted to rebuild the lab.

He clarified that testing services were suspended in the lab for a short time and once the system was fixed, the tests were carried out as usual.

Meanwhile, several operations at the hospital were also delayed as the gas supply to the Operations Theatre (OT) Complex was suspended through Monday morning. This meant that the autoclave machine, used for sterilising surgical instruments, could not operate.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed, who was present at the hospital, was surrounded by several attendants in the OT Complex. They informed him of the delays and demanded the authorities fix the machine.

Dr Ahmed directed the officers to file a report immediately. He also told the hospital management to ensure that surgeries are carried out on time.

The hospital administration said, however, that the delays occurred because the old gas line was being changed and a new one was being laid.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2010.