Three killed in gas cylinder explosion in northwest Pakistan — rescue service

Rescue workers prepare to search for the victims in the debris of a damaged building in Peshawar on February 16, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Rescue 1122)

• Accidents caused by explosions involving faulty gas cylinders are common in Pakistan
• People use these cylinders for cooking as well as in vehicles ignoring serious hazards

ISLAMABAD: Three people were killed and another was injured as a result of a gas cylinder explosion in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Rescue 1122 service said on Friday.
The explosion occurred in Ijazabad area of KP’s provincial capital of Peshawar, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesperson.
It collapsed roof of a room inside the house and four members of the family were trapped under the rubble.
“Bodies of a man and a woman have been recovered from under the debris,” the Rescue 1122 spokesperson said, adding another child who was injured in the explosion had succumbed to his wounds.
Accidents caused by explosions involving faulty or worn-out gas cylinders, which are used for cooking as well as in cars, are common in Pakistan.
In July last year, five people were killed and 10 were injured on Sunday after a gas cylinder explosion flattened a three-story building in Jhelum city in the eastern province of Punjab
Prior to that, seven people lost their lives and 14 others were left injured as a gas cylinder installed in a vehicle exploded in the Bhalwal town of Punjab’s Sargodha district.