RAWALPINDI, Jan 25: A gas cylinder blast on Thursday gutted a storeroom at the Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) office near Choor Chowk, besides slightly injuring a constable.

Eyewitness said more than a dozen motorbikes and a number of seized LPG cylinders and pressure horns were destroyed in the explosion caused by gas leakage. A house adjacent to the police office was also damaged.

Flames engulfed the building when a gas cylinder exploded at around 4:15pm. The roof of the room also collapsed in the incident.

As the fire broke out, the traffic police staff left the office in panic and informed the fire fighters.

Manzoor Ahmed, a traffic constable, was slightly burnt while escaping the fire. He was taken to the DHQ hospital where doctors discharged him after providing first-aid.

The fire department put out the fire after an hour-long effort and confirmed that the incident occurred when a cylinder exploded.

A local resident claimed that the police personnel had been informed in the morning about the gas leak but they did not take it seriously and in the afternoon an explosion rocked the area.

SSP Traffic Sabir Ahmed, when contacted, said the incident took place when a gas cylinder fell on the ground while being shifted. It exploded causing burns to a constable and set the room on fire.