TAXILA, June 10: Three labourers were killed and four others injured when explosives stored in the godown of a construction company near Burhan Motorway Interchange area exploded in the small hours of Sunday.

Police and rescue workers told this correspondent that some detonators and explosives, stored in the godown of the private company working with Pakistan Motorway Consortium (PMC), went off at 1:30am as a result of which fire broke out in the residential quarters of labourers and its walls collapsed.

On receiving information, fire-fighters, law enforcement agencies, local police and NHMP officials rushed to the spot.

The fire fighters put out the flames, however, three labourers got trapped under the debris and died of burn injuries and suffocation.

The charred bodies were identified as that of foreman Wahab Rana, resident of Bhakkar; Nizam Khan and Raqiuddin, both residents of Malakand.

The four injured were identified as Mohammad Sadeeq, Saeedur Rehman, Furqan Ali and Ghulam Baqar. They were taken to the burn unit of Wah Cantonment Hospital and later shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad.

The bodies of the victims were dispatched to their native towns for burial.

The Hassanabdal Police have registered a case against the company’s management on the charge of negligence and violation of safety rules in storing explosive substance inside the camp.

According to the police, the explosives used in road construction had been stored in the godown without adopting any appropriate safety measure. The explosives might have gone off due to the hot weather, they added.