KARACHI, Aug 1: Seven people were injured and four vehicles damaged when a sewer exploded near Cantonment Railway Station on Dawoodpota Road on Wednesday, police and witnesses said.

The SHO of the Artillery Maidan police said that the bang caused by the gases accumulated in the pipeline at around 4pm and damaged a 30-foot section of the road. No one, however, sustained fatal injuries, he added.

Witnesses said that the blast occurred in a partially opened manhole near FJ School as soon as a truck stopped over it.

Rehan Danish, a passer-by, said he saw the truck go up into the air with a loud explosion and fall back on a cab and car. “The truck hit the cab and the car with a deafening sound,” he added.

Other witnesses spoke of panic among the passers-by, saying many of them thought it was a bomb blast and ran to safety. Several cars were seen abandoned around the scene of the blast as their occupants had run away in panic. Vehicular traffic on this section of the road remained suspended until the police and Rangers personnel arrived and got the road cleared.

The seven people injured in the incident were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where they were identified as Abdul Rehman, Noor Khan, Tufail, Hussain Qasim, Rahim Shah, Rehan and Munawwar. They were provided treatment for minor injuries.

Residents of the locality said the manhole had been emitting gases for a week or so, suggesting that the gases might have been inflammable and set off the blast after getting heated by the truck engine.