A minor girl died of burns while five members of her family were injured in a car explosion in Karachi’s Quaidabad area early Tuesday morning, according to police, hospital and rescue services officials.
They added that six people suffered burns when a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder exploded inside the car at Quaidabad main roundabout.
Rescue-1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan said Sunrise that the family was filling LPG cylinders at a roadside workshop when the explosion occurred.
As for possible reasons, Khan said, generally, “such explosions occur due to lack of mandatory hydrostatic testing after a certain period.
“Another possible reason was that when the cylinder is filled with LPG under pressure, an explosion is triggered,” he added.
Khan recently noted a similar incident in Shah Faisal Colony with human casualties. He added that these roadside businesses did not take precautionary measures as they were illegal.
“The injured were transported to the burn center of Karachi Civil Hospital, where the nine-year-old girl died during treatment,” said police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.
Dr Syed added that the girl suffered 80 per cent burns and the condition of the other five victims was also serious.
“The two sisters of the deceased girl… suffered 81% and 71% burns respectively,” he added. “His parents and another family member also suffered serious burns.”
In February this year, five members of the same family, including three women, suffered severe burns in an explosion caused by a leak in a gas geyser in Azizabad, police and rescue officials said.
Area station officer Amir Azam said the incident took place on the ground floor of a four-storey house in Block 2 of Federal Area B near Al-Falah Masjid.
