Islamabad: As many as 12 people were killed and 13 others injured in a gas cylinder blast in a market in the Lasbela district of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, media reports said on Tuesday.
Deputy Commissioner of Lasbela Murad Khan Kasi told the media that the incident took place at a shop during its gas refilling process, causing a huge explosion and spreading fire to the adjacent shops in the Bela area of Lasbela, reports Xinhua news agency.
Dr Robina Bashir of Civil Hospital Karachi said that 25 injured were brought for treatment at the burns center of Civil Hospital. However, 12 of them died during the treatment.
The condition of some other injured was also serious with 70 to 90 per cent burn injuries, she said.
The official feared that the death toll might increase because most of the injured were in critical condition.
The explosion-triggered fire also engulfed other cylinders stored in the shop, leading to more blasts that have destroyed four neighboring shops and around 12 vehicles parked nearby.
Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has condemned the attack and imposed an emergency in hospitals across the city.
