Illegal business: Worker killed, another injured in gas cylinder blast

SIALKOT:

A worker was killed on Wednesday when the roof of a factory collapsed following a gas cylinder blast. Another worker was severely injured and taken to a hospital.

Rescue officials said a liquid gas cylinders were being filled at a small setup in the Puradpura area. On Wednesday, a cylinder exploded while it was being refilled. The roof of the factory came down and glass windows of the adjacent buildings were broken. Some houses in the area were also damaged.

Two workers- Nazeer Ahmad and Javed Masih- were trapped underneath the rubble. Masih had died before he was pulled out. Ahmad was hospitalised. Police said the factory owner fled. District Police Officer Muhammad Gohar Nafees told The Express Tribune that initial investigation had revealed that the factory had been set up illegally. He said some tehsil municipal administration officials were found to have been bribed by the factory owner. He said action would be taken against them.

A few days ago, police said, three men were seriously injured in a cylinder blast at a restaurant on Wazirabad Road. Of the injured, one was the restaurant’s manager, who they said, was still in the hospital in critical condition.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2014.