BAHAWALPUR: Three persons were injured when a cylinder exploded in a shop in Fateh Khan bazaar because of gas leakage on Wednesday.

According to emergency service Rescue 1122 and police sources, gas leaked from a cylinder in a shop owned by one Faisal Shehzad.

They said as soon as a customer lit a matchstick inside the shop, an explosion occurred and in no time the whole place caught fire.

As a result, the shopkeeper, his helper Munir Ahmed and an ice vendor, Irfan, who was sitting there, suffered burns.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the Rescue 1122 team arrived late at the scene and the locals manged to extinguish the blaze on a self-help basis.

The injured were initially admitted to the emergency ward of the Bahawal Victoria Hospital where they were being provided treatment.

The police so far took no action against the shopkeeper who was also injured in the incident.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2019