Sargodha: LPG cylinder blast in a passenger van leaves 7 dead, 14 injured

An LPG cylinder blast in a passenger van in Sargodha has left at least seven people dead, while 14 others were injured on Saturday.

As reported, the vehicle’s gas cylinder exploded amid leakage near the Government College of Commerce in the Bhalwal city of Sargodha district on Saturday morning.

According to the Police, a white Toyota Hiace was en route to Kot Momin when the substandard cylinder filled with LPG gas for fuel exploded due to a gas leak. While the van’s driver fled the scene right after the explosion.

According to a statement issued by Rescue 1122 Control Room, seven people were killed on the spot while 14 others were injured, out of which seven were seriously injured.

The injured were shifted to the Bhalwal Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital.

The injured who were taken to the hospital included two children — aged four and 12 — as well as two 50-year-olds.

The bodies, out of which five could not be identified, were also shifted to the same hospital.

Rescue 1122 statement added that it had received a call alerting about the incident at 8:35 am, and their response time to it was in seven minutes, with nine ambulances, three fire-fighting vehicles, and a rescue vehicle dispatched to the site.

The call had informed Resue 1122 about a fire erupting in a Hiace vehicle of Gara Brothers’ Transport due to gas leakage from its Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinder, the statement added.