6 killed, 2 injured in explosion in Kot Addu

• All deceased belonged to same family including 3 women, 1 child.
• "Premature" to say anything about nature of explosion, says Rescue 1122.
• Injured shifted to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Kot Addu.

KOT ADDU: At least six people were killed and two were injured in an explosion in a house in Daira Din Panah, in Punjab's Kot Addu — about 80 kilometres from Muzaffargarh — police said Thursday.

According to the police, the house in which the explosion occurred was owned by a person who works at a junkyard.

“Even at the time of the explosion, waste materials and scrap were being sorted,” they confirmed, adding that police teams and related security agencies reached the spot soon after the explosion.

“The nature of the explosion is not yet known,” police sources confirmed.

DPO Hasnain Haider said that a bomb disposal squad and other security agencies are busy finding out the reasons for the incident.

The five killed on-spot included two women and a girl. Later, a one-and-a-half-year-old child, succumbed to wounds at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Kot Addu — where the injured had been shifted.

They also belonged to the same family.

Those deceased on-spot were identified as Haseena Mai, 40, Bilal, 38, Iqbal, 30, Shano Mai, 28, and four-year-old Sadia Bibi.

According to Rescue 1122, the control room received a call at 8:44am in which the caller informed that five people had been killed and three were injured due to the explosion of an “unknown object” in the house.

The caller requested that an ambulance be sent quickly.

“Rescue 1122 Control Room immediately dispatched three ambulances from Kot Addu Central Rescue Station to the accident site and also informed the police,” a statement from the helpline said.

When the rescue staff reached the location, eyewitnesses said that five people died on the spot and three people were injured due to the explosion of an unknown object in the room.

While the rescue team has started rescue operations, the statement said, it would be premature to say anything about the nature of the explosion.

Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar has sought a report from Dera Ghazi Khan regional police officer, while taking notice of the explosion.

He also directed the Muzaffargarh district police officer to investigate the matter from all aspects.