At least 50 people, mostly children, received burn injuries in a major blast at a liquid petroleum gas cylinder filling shop in Hyderabad’s Preetabad area on Thursday, health officials said.

According to Liaquat University Hospital’s (LUH) burn ward registrar, Dr Shahzad Memon, the blast occurred in the jurisdiction of the Pinyari police station, injuring at least 50 people.

The blast took place in a ground-floor shop located in Zacha Bacha hospital area on Mir Nabi Bux Town road in UC-8 of Neerunkot town.

Rescue 1122 teams and firefighters arrived in the area along with ambulances and began moving patients.

Firefighters brought the fire under control in the shop that had begun to spread to the building’s upper floors where the property owner’s family resided.

Residents on the upper floor of a building owned by one Babuddin Qureshi were moved to other areas. “The shop is owned by Akram Arain and he himself is injured. Arain is a tenant of Babuddin Qureshi, who is also seriously injured”, said the cable operator of the area, Sarwar Qazi.

He said Parveen Qazi — a political activist — was also injured along with her son and two grandsons.

Qureshi’s property was also a space for a seminary where mostly children were studying. “When the blast took place, children were either leaving or entering the seminary,” said Israr Ali, a local mechanic.

Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zain Memon and Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Farrukh Ali also arrived at the spot.

Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro and Deputy Mayor Saghir Qureshi also visited the site and LUH.

All the injured were moved to LUH’s burns ward, Dr Memon told Dawn.com. The hospital’s record showed that 16 people were moved to Karachi for treatment.

“They are seriously injured with 90pc burn wounds,” said LUH administration officer Dr Aftab Phull of those moved to Karachi.

He said the rest were admitted to the paediatrics intensive care unit (ICU) or the adult ICU in the burns ward.

Hospital staff said chaotic scenes were witnessed in LUH’s casualty and burn wards as the injured began to arrive in ambulances followed by their grieving relatives.

“We are unable to figure out how to handle it as there was so much chaos. But then we settled it and began moving patients to Karachi who had a higher percentage of burn injuries,” Dr Phull said.

A statement from the spokesman of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said the provincial chief took notice of the incident and directed the commissioner to treat the injured in LUH, along with ordering Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Ikram Din Ujjan to supervise the treatment.

CM Shah also instructed the VC to refer those in worse condition to Karachi. “The precious lives should be taken care of in every way,” he said.

The chief minister also ordered the commissioner to conduct an inquiry and inspect other shops once relief operations were over.

Additional reporting by Imtiaz Ali.



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