Fire incident: Four injured in gas cylinder blast

Residents protest against district govt for letting gas shops operate in the area.

BAHAWALPUR:

Four people, including the owner of a gas cylinder shop, were injured on Friday when a gas cylinder exploded.

The explosion led to a fire that spread to the adjacent shop. It was put out by Rescue 1122 firefighters in less than an hour.

Witnesses told police that Zahoor Shah, the owner of the shop, was filling a cylinder with LPG when three men entered the shop and lit a cigarette. This, they said, caused an explosion, followed by fire.

Shah and the three men, later identified as Shafiq Ahmad, Shahzad Ahmad and Saif Ali, were badly burned and taken to district headquarters hospital. Three of them were said to be in critical condition.

Following the incident, some residents of the area protested against the district government for letting gas filling shops operate in the area.

The protesters said that despite a ban by the government on such shops in residential areas, district government officials were ignoring these businesses. They said the officers only visited the area after an accident or blast.

The protesters shouted slogans demanding that the higher authorities order a transparent inquiry into the incident and act against officials found negligent. They also requested the government to seal all illegal gas shops in residential areas.

They later dispersed when some district government officers arrived at the scene and assured them that they would take notice of their complaint.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2013.