LAHORE: The death toll of Multan fireworks blast rose to seven on Tuesday as police recovered three more bodies, of a child and two men, from the debris of the three-storey residential building.

Six others were injured in the incident occurring on Saturday in Mohala Neeli Garan.

The police, rescue and district administration teams had suspended the operation after finding dead bodies of four family members in the debris four days ago.

However, the locals complained of foul smell in the area, following which the officials resumed the operation, finding the bodies of two men and a child.

The bodies were identified as Shaban, his son Rehman, who belonged to Mumtazabad area and another man, identified as Mohsin.

Three more bodies recovered from debris of building in Multan

The investigation revealed that the three persons were standing outside the house to buy firecrackers when the building collapsed and they were buried under the debris.

The area residents pointed out negligence of the police, Rescue 1122 staff and the district administration officials, who closed the search operation without properly removing the debris.

The residents said the firecracker factory had been running in the locality for the last 25 years, but police and district administration did not take any action against it.

They said some other houses in the narrow streets in the locality were also affected by the massive explosion, but no one was helping the owners to fix the problem.

Delhi Gate police have registered a case under section sections 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act 1884 against the house owner Riaz, his nephew Shehbaz and others on behalf of the state.

According to the FIR, the suspects had stored firecrackers material in the house, putting the life and property of the area residents at risk.

Police also arrested the suspects started investigation.

Rescue official say that they are continuing with removal of the debris, apprehending that the death toll could further increase.

They said the operation was suspended on the direction of police and district administration.

Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Dogar suspended Delhi Gate SHO and three other policemen from service over negligence.

He said the factory was issued licence by the district administration.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024