Gas leak: Explosion leaves eight members of family injured

Two women remain in critical condition with over 50 per cent burns.

ISLAMABAD:

Eight members of a family were seriously injured after a stove explosion in their house in Gulzar Madina Gali, Shakrial on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Rescue 1122 rushed all of the injured to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Burns Centre.

According to officials at the hospital, of the eight injured, two women — Zaibunnissa, 35, and Nazia, 28 — were in critical condition with over 50 per cent burns.

“Their faces, arms, legs and the upper bodies have been severely burnt,” said an official at the Burns Centre.

Meanwhile, Imran, who was also burnt in the incident, told The Express Tribune that the accident occurred at 4am on Saturday.

Imran  said that eight members of his family including three women and four children aged eight, five, three, and a six-month-old baby were sleeping, while a cooking stove being used as a heater was on.

“We all were sleeping. Suddenly, I heard the sound of blast and the very next moment, I found our six-month-old baby flying across the room because of the impact of the explosion. We found ourselves surrounded by the fire,” he said.

He said that all the windows and the doors of his house were blown away while the furniture was destroyed by the explosion.

Imran thought that the explosion was caused by a leak in the gas pipe that was connected to the stove.

Mohammad Irfan, the younger brother of Imran, said, “I cannot forget seeing all my family screaming for help after being surrounded by the fire,” he said.

A senior doctor at the Burns Centre said that the centre receives such victims every year, especially in winters. He blamed gas load shedding and the explosions that oftentimes follow.

“There is a need to create awareness among the masses about preventive measures. People must turn off their heaters and stoves before going to sleep,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2014.