Gas cylinder explosion in Pakistan’s Supreme Court basement injures 12

Twelve people were injured after a gas cylinder exploded in the basement of Pakistan’s Supreme Court building in Islamabad early on Tuesday. Police officials said that the incident occurred at around 10:55 am, Dawn reported.

Investigations by the Islamabad police revealed that there had been complaints of a gas leakage in the canteen of the Supreme Court located in the basement for the past three days. “Initial probe revealed that there had been complaints of gas leakage in the canteen located in the basement and a tea room for around the past three days. Plumbers and technicians who work at the Supreme Court were looking into those,” the Inspector General of Police (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi told the media.

They also found that there was considerable leakage in the canteen on Tuesday as well. Two of the air conditioners in the canteen were also not functioning properly, Rizvi said, “Technicians were repairing them, during which gas accumulated, and a blast occurred.”

Out of the 12 injured, nine were taken to the Polyclinic hospital and three to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). Rizvi said that the two of the injured, the technicians repairing the air conditioners, were the most affected, sustaining about 80 per cent and 30 per cent burns. The rest suffered minor burn injuries.

Multiple videos of the incident show parts of the Supreme Court’s floor with blood stains. One person, who was bleeding, was seen being taken away in footage.

World