LAHORE: Four children died while 11 other members of two families were injured after the roof of a house caved in due to a powerful ‘gas blast’ at Pangali village on Barki Road.

Initial police reports suggested that the entire house collapsed in the incident.

The deceased children were identified as Ali (8), Shereen (6), Anosh (6) and Hurain (5).

The injured included four children, five young men and women and two elderly persons.A police official said that according to the head of the family, Faryad, the blast had occurred due to a gas leakage. He said as the house was almost covered from all sides and the gas had accumulated in the kitchen and two adjoining rooms, which were closed. A woman of the family went to the kitchen to cook some food. As she lit a match, the gas accumulated in the room caught fire and a blast occurred.

The official said the intensity of the blast was so powerful that the roof and some walls of the house also collapsed. All members of the family got trapped under the debris. He said the blast sound also created a panic in the area.

The rescuers recovered three children dead while one died on the way to hospital. They recovered injured persons from the debris and shifted them to hospitals.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also sought a report from police on the incident.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2021