Gujranwala blast toll reaches to 4, injure 8

GUJRANWALA: The death toll in an explosion on Sheikhupura Road here increased to four, when a woman, a heart patient under treatment in the nearby cardiac hospital couldn’t sustain the thud of the blast and breathed her last, while eight persons were wounded, two buildings and three shops were razed to the ground, Geo News reported.

Bomb disposal squad was still groping in the dark about the nature of the blast. The blast occurred at 2.45 A.M. in the night, which turned into debris a private bank’s building, a house adjacent to it and three shops, while glass panes of the hospital also shattered.

Bomb disposal squad spokesman commander Muhammad Iqbal said that the nature of the explosion could only be ascertained after the debris were cleared.

Gujranwala S.P. Saddar, Shoaib Janbaz said that it could not be ascertained as yet whether the explosion took place due to leakage of gas or explosives.

On the other hand, Sui Gas department claimed that such a big blast was not possible due to gas leakage. However, the gas leakage started after the blast from the pipeline passing through near the bank and the gas pressure was controlled after one and a half to two hours.

Eyewitnesses said the blast was so huge that the entire area was drowned into clouds of smokes.

Three bodies have been retried from the debris of the bank’s building by the rescue teams after several hours of struggle. The injured have been shifted to the District Headquarter Hospital of which two are in critical condition.