Rawalpindi: six people were injured after a sewerage pipe exploded due to the accumulation of gas on Wednesday morning, leaving behind a large crater on the road that connects the Holy Family Hospital road with Phagwari Road.
Due to the incident, the authorities cordoned off a traffic jam on sliding roads, which created problems for residents, while the site was cordoned off by the authorities. According to the officials of the District Administration, the gas accumulated in the pipe caused the explosion. They said that the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) officials and the officials of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) were informed about the incident and were asked to verify the reason behind it.
The emergency officer of District Sibghatullah said Sunrise That 1122 rescue received a call on the explosion in the sewerage line and hastened to the site. He said that two people were injured in the first gas explosion and that four people were injured in the second explosion. He said the injured were transferred to Holy Family Hospital, where his condition was described stable.
Meanwhile, the limited officials of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines reviewed the area and said that the sewer pipe exploded because there were no gas leaks in the SNGPL pipes. “It is strange that the two explosions occurred in a path that was rebuilt last year. We suspect that the civic agency possibly used lower quality material,” said Muhammad Fareed, a merchant.
A resident Nasir Ali expected the relevant department to fill the trench soon because it was causing problems to people, especially schoolchildren. He said that civic bodies needed to excavate the entire part to verify the status of public service lines.
Wasa Salem Ashraf managing director said Sunrise The explosion did not happen in the WASA sewerage line. He said the drain was not part of the designated tributaries of Leh Nullah WASA scheduled for unique cleaning. He said the twin explosions occurred in front of Sunrise Bakery, E-Block, Town Satellite. The affected drain had no ventilation opening or men’s wells, except a single grid in front of the bakery, which led to gas accumulation.
He said that the explosion caused significant damage, such as the dismantling of the input grilles, the damage to the concrete slabs and the displacement of the asphalt layer on the adjacent path.
He advised the Municipal Corporation of Rawalpindi to remodel the drainage to guarantee adequate gas ventilation and install men’s wells (ventilation openings) at regular intervals, no more than 20 meters away, to mitigate the possible accumulation of gas.
Posted in Dawn, May 22, 2025
