Former federal minister and Senator Abbas Afridi on Friday succumbed to burn injuries sustained in a gas leak explosion a day earlier, while three others were wounded.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi told Dawn.com that their team had rushed Afridi and three others to Kohat Combined Military Hospital, from where Afridi was taken to a burn centre in Kharian, Punjab, in a helicopter.

Nouman Ali, spokesperson for the Kohat police, told Dawn.com, “Afridi was in a critical condition and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. His body was brought to Kohat today.”

He said the three others had been transported to a divisional headquarters hospital.

The police spokesperson said Afridi and his friends, Dilnawaz, Javed Afridi and Nadeem, were in the Hujra when a gas leak caused an explosion. The intensity of the blast damaged the walls of the Hujra.

Afridi’s funeral will be held today at 5pm at Babri Banda, Kohat.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed deep sorrow and grief over Afridi’s death.

He expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the deceased’s father Senator Shamim Afridi, the deceased’s brother, who is provincial information secretary of the People’s Party, Amjad Afridi and other relatives, saying: “We all share the same grief with them in this hour of grief.”

Kundi directed higher authorities to investigate the nature of the explosion after receiving information about the blast, and that a transparent inquiry be conducted.

Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Deputy Chairman Zahid Khan also expressed grief over the demise of Afridi, calling him a “sociable and sincere person.”

Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani