HYDERABAD: A big fire coupled with three cylinder blasts destroyed two shops, three vehicles and electrical and sound system equipment following a gas leak in one of the outlets located on Hali Road on Wednesday.

The back-to-back blasts caused considerable panic in the area.

People present in the neighbourhood said that a leaking cylinder caught fire at the gas filling outlet owned by Rafiq Ahmed, who along with his son, Sohail, was busy dealing customers. They said the fire engulfed the shop and caused three cylinders to explode before spreading to the next shop, where it destroyed expensive sound system equipment, four generators and electric decoration goods in a large number.

A motorcycle, an auto-rickshaw and a mini-cab, locally known as ‘four-seater’ parked outside the shops also caught fire and sustained extensive damage.

No one was injured in the incident, fire-fighters who managed to extinguish the blaze using two fire engines, said.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2016