Two more victims of the Tuesday explosion in a cement factory, including the in-charge of the Bomb Disposal Squad, Inspector Tahir Malik, succumbed to their injuries in Karachi Civil Hospital on Wednesday.

The general manager of the cement factory where the blast took place, Ghulam Mustafa Memon, also passed away.

Both Malik and Memon had received serious burn injuries after a large cache of explosive material was accidentally triggered in the cement factory while officials were trying to deactivate it.

Confirming the deaths, the superintendent of the Special Branch of Sukkur Police, Mansoor Mughal, noted that the death toll from the blast had risen to six. Two policemen, a Rangers official and a factory worker had lost their lives on Tuesday in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

A Rangers press release said that 226 kilogrammes of explosives, 3,064 safety fuses, 2,940 metres detonating chord and 2,668 detonators were found in and around the Rohri Cement Factory during a search operation ahead of Muharram.

The explosives were to be used in the breaking down of large stones, as part of the cement-making process.

Malik and Memon were among the seven men who were shifted to Karachi via a Navy aircraft. A local journalist, Lal Bukhsh Kandhiro, remains in critical condition.

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