Twelve people were injured in a “gas” explosion at the Supreme Court building in Islamabad on Tuesday, police said.

“A gas blast occurred at a canteen in the basement of the Supreme Court building at around 10:55am,” Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said while speaking to the media after the incident.

He added that of the 12 injured, nine were taken to the Polyclinic hospital and three to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). IG Rizvi further told the reporters that the condition of two of the injured was “serious” who had sustained 80 per cent and 30pc burns. “The rest suffered minor injuries, most of which are burn injuries.”

In multiple videos received by Dawn following the incident, the damaged interior of parts of the SC building is visible with blood stains on the floor. In other videos recorded outside, people, including lawyers, could be seen spilling out of the building.

The IG said police, including special branch and along with bomb disposal squad and Rescue 1122 personnel, had visited the scene of the incident and carried out an investigation.

“Initial probe revealed that there had been complaints of gas leakage in the canteen located in the basement and a tea room for around past three days. Plumbers and technicians who work at the Supreme Court were looking into those,” he said.

He further stated that there was considerable leakage in the canteen today as well. Meanwhile, two of the air conditioners in the canteen were not working properly, he added.

“Technicians were repairing them, during which gas accumulated […] and a blast occurred.”

The IG said among the injured, the technicians repairing the air conditioners were most affected.

He also assured that no traces of any kind of explosives were found at the site.

Additional reporting by Umer Mehtab