TOBA TEK SINGH: The death toll in laptop battery blast case reached seven as three more members of the family succumbed to their burns at Allied Hospital on Saturday.

On Tuesday night, battery of a laptop exploded as a result a fire had broken out in the house at Faisalabad’s Sharifpura locality located on Satiana Road.

Nine burned people were shifted to the burn unit of Allied Hospital. Two of them, minor children Muhammad Talha (9) and his sister Dua Fatima (6) succumbed to their injuries.

On Thursday, two more victims, identified as Nargis Bibi (32) and Muhammad Ibrahim (3) also died. The other three who lost their lives were Rashida Bibi (40), her nephew Makki Raza (24) and Rehan Raza.

Probe says AC sucked gas from a kitchen pipe which caused fire

The condition of the remaining two persons under treatment at the same hospital was said be serious. Meanwhile, a three-member committee formed by the deputy commissioner has completed an inquiry into the incident.

The members -- civil defence officer, general assistant revenue, and District Rescue 1122 emergency officer -- revealed in their inquiry report that the blast was not caused by a laptop battery.

They said an air-conditioner installed in a wall adjacent to the kitchen had a pipe passing through the kitchen, tangled with a Sui gas pipe. Due to a leakage in the gas pipe, the AC sucked in Sui gas, which sparked and caught fire, resulting in the explosion in the room.

ROOF COLLAPSE: Four labourers were injured critically after an under-construction roof of a house caved in on them at Kamalia in Khalid Colony located near general bus stand on Saturday.

Rescue 1122 said its personnel removed heavy debris and rescued them. They had been shifted to Kamalia THQ hospital. They were identified as Tanweer (35), Mumtaz (60), Gulsher (60) and Ramzan (38).

PFA: A Punjab Food Authority team caught red-handed a meat seller with stock of 26 bags weighing 1,485 kg of dead poultry birds from his shop located near outer gate of Shalimar Town on Saturday.

Police arrested meat shop owner Rashid and sent him behind the bars while raids were also in progress to arrest his another accomplice. The recovered meat had been dumped.

It merits mentioning that the suspect had also remained in jail under same charge but a court had released him on bail.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2024