RAWALPINDI: Eight children and four adults from one family have been hospitalised with burn injuries after an explosion, caused by a gas leak, caused a fire in their home in Kahuta on Tuesday, police and a member of the family said.

A woman, two of her daughters, her two year old grandson and 12 month old granddaughter received critical burns in the fire.

Razullah, 40, and his wife Yasmeen Akhtar, 36, moved to an under-construction house in Kahuta two days ago with their five daughters and two sons. Razullah’s uncle Rehmanullah told Dawn he was on the way to the mosque for his morning prayers when he received a call from his Razullah, who was injured in the fire.

He said when he arrived at Razullah’s home he found all the members of the family injured, and the children being shifted into the ambulances present at the house.

The injured include Razullah, Ms Akhtar, their children Sara, 13, Hajira, 17, Amana, 18, Fatima, 4, Yasin, 8, and Mohammad, 6, as well as their daughter Sheereen, 25, and her children Ayisha, 4, Rabia, 1, Usman, 3.

Ghulam Rasool, Razullah’s cousin, said Sheereen’s husband was not staying at the same house and therefore was unharmed.

All the victims were treated in the Holy Family Hospital’s emergency department due to a lack of space and overcrowding in the hospital’s burns unit. The number of explosions caused by gas leaks has been rising in Rawalpindi since winter began.

When contacted, the police said the preliminary investigation suggest that some of the children had switched on a gas cylinder used by the family before going to bed.

He said when Ms Akhtar woke up and lit the gas stove, an explosion occurred. According to the doctors, all the victims brought to the hospital from Kahuta have received anywhere from 25pc to 70pc burn injuries.

Published in Dawn January 25th, 2017