LAHORE, Jan 8: A labourer died and 12 other people suffered injuries in two incidents in the city on Sunday. Police said labourer Abdul Waheed, 32, died from suffocation and his seven colleagues suffered injuries in a fire in Samanabad. The labourers were asleep in a rented room close to an outlet of wooden material when a fire broke out and they got trapped. Neighbours, together with the police and fire fighters, took three hours to recover the labourers from the room engulfed with the blaze.

With burn wounds, the labourers were taken to hospital where Waheed died while the others were immediately treated. They were stated to be out of danger. The body has been returned to family without autopsy.

Another five people suffered injuries when a gas cylinder exploded at a tea stall in Sabzazar.

Owned by Liaquat, the stall had nine customers around when the cylinder went off, the police said. They added five of them got wounds, who were transported to hospital. The condition of one of them was stated to be precarious.

No case has so far been registered.

car-lifters held: The motorway police also claimed to have arrested three car-lifters.

On suspicion, the police signalled a car. Its occupants tried to escape, but the police got them in a chase. Those arrested are Imran, Kashif and Rizwan.

The car turned out to be a stolen one, which they had lifted from Lahore, the police said. Booty, including Rs38,932 in cash, two gold chains and a cell phone, was also recovered from the car.