At least seven people lost their lives while another 10 were injured on Sunday after a three-storey private hotel located on the Grand Trunk Road in Punjab’s Jhelum collapsed due to a gas cylinder explosion, according to officials.

Rescue 1122 district emergency in-charge Rana Mohammad Saeed told Dawn.com that the death toll reached seven after one more body was retrieved by the end of the rescue operation while 10 injured were under treatment.

“The [seventh] body belongs to a person named Qaiser who owns a gas cylinder refill shop,” Saeed said.

Jhelum District Police Officer (DPO) Nasir Mehmood Bajwa told Dawn.com that the explosion did not occur in the building but in the cylinder shop — which was located in the basement of the building. “Proceedings have been initiated for registration of a case,” he added.

A statement from Jhelum Deputy Commissioner (DC) Samiullah Farooq said that there was no evidence of anyone else under the hotel’s wreckage. He added that the rescue operation was continuing while a search operation would begin in the morning.

Speaking earlier in the day, he said the incident took place at 9:45am. “We have so far recovered 16 people from under the rubble of which 10 were injured and the remaining six people had unfortunately passed away.”

All the wounded persons, the official continued, were moved to hospitals and were in stable condition.

“Our relief and rescue operation is still under way and it will continue until the last breath of life is rescued,” DC Farooq said, adding that 95 per cent of the area was cleared.

Talking about the blast, he said initial findings confirmed that the explosion was caused by gas cylinders. “We found 10 to 12 cylinders in the basement of the hotel and a number of commercial cylinders as well,” Farooq added.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Hassan Tariq told Dawn.com that rescue teams “immediately responded and initiated rescue efforts” after the blast was reported.

Tariq added that all senior doctors and staff were present at the Jhelum District Headquarters Hospital where the injured were provided treatment while one seriously injured patient was referred to the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi.

The Jhelum police also said DPO Bajwa was supervising the rescue efforts while heavy machinery was being used to remove the debris.

The DPO said that all available resources were being utilised in the rescue operation.

An “emergency” was imposed in the District Headquarters Hospital and the entire staff and doctors were called on duty.

In a statement released later in the evening, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in the building collapse and extended condolences to the bereaved families.

He prayed for the speedy recovery of the wounded people and directed authorities to provide them with the best medical aid.

A day ago, at least seven people were killed and 14 others were injured when a vehicle’s gas cylinder exploded in the Bhalwal tehsil of Punjab’s Sargodha district.

Last month, at least five, including three children, were killed and seven others were injured in three separate gas cylinder explosions across the country.