- Advertisement -
DERA GHAZI KHAN, Jan 28 (APP):Three Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) capsule trailers caught fire and two of them blew up with a bang causing the death of an elderly man and minor burns to two rescuers at Shinwari pump along traffic-busy Indus Highway in Kot Chutta tehsil of district Dera Ghazi Khan on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, a day after an LPG gas tanker blast in Multan left six people dead and over 30 injured.
Waqas Khaleeq, media coordinator, the Rescue 1122 DG Khan told APP that three LPG capsule trailers were parked at the pump on Indus Highway and one of them caught fire after gas leakage. The LPG trailer then exploded and flames caught another LPG trailer parked near it. By this time, rescuers had reached the spot upon receiving the information and orders from Commissioner DG Khan Ashfaq Ahmed Chaudhry. The second gas capsule also met a blast and the flames caught the third LPG capsule.
An elderly man, who was watching the LPG capsules in flames, caught fire due to the blast and died.
A fire vehicle, a motorcycle ambulance and a rescue ambulance reached the spot immediately from a nearby station while four more fire vehicles, a rescue vehicle, and additional fire vehicles from Rescue 1122 Rajanpur and Jampur were called.
Staff of the Shinwari pump and workers of a nearby hotel were immediately rushed to safer places while police cordoned off the area and stopped traffic on both sides of the Indus Highway by placing barriers and deployment of police staff.
Rescuers remained busy for hours and extinguished the fire. Total six fire vehicles, two rescue vehicles and additional staff were deployed in controlling the situation under supervision of District Emergency Officer Dera Ghazi Khan in the presence of Assistant Commissioner Kot Chutta Junaid Khan.
The driver of the LPG capsule trailer that had first suffered gas leakage, fire and blast escaped from the scene.
Meanwhile, commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed Chaudhry and DC Usman Khalid issued an alert for teaching hospital Dera Ghazi Khan, THQ hospital Kot Chutta and nearby health centers.
A video shared on social media showed all the three LPG capsule trailers were parked close to each other while another video showed how one capsule on fire blew up with flames and smoke could be seen several meters up in the air.
Rescuers said, the fire has been put out and traffic on the Indus Highway restored. The rescuers who suffered minor burns were provided medical aid.