NEW DELHI, Dec 18: A dozen people were killed and at least 13 others were injured in a massive blast, apparently triggered by a gas explosion in a sewage canal, ripped through the building of a private bank situated on it in Pakistan’s financial capital city of Karachi on Saturday, the police said.
The explosion went off in the bank building in the Sher Shah area and social media and TV footage showed the two-floor structure’s windows and doors blown out, with documents scattered across a wide area. Most of the killed and injured were the customers and the bank staff who were inside the building at the time of the explosion. Several cars and motorcycles parked nearby were also damaged.
Provincial police told AFP a bomb disposal squad was investigating, but “apparently the leakage of gas was the cause.” They said 12 people had been confirmed killed, and 13 were being treated for injuries.
Media reports said explosions caused by faulty gas cylinders – which are used for cooking as well as in cars – are common in Pakistan. Karachi, which contribute for over 60 percent of Pakistan’s economic output, has long endured creaky infrastructure, illegal construction, and failing municipal services, the reports said.
The bank building was built on top of a covered sewage channel which collapsed following the explosion, the media report said.
An adjacent filling station was also damaged due to the explosion. Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab said an investigation was underway to ascertain the cause of the blast.
“This is to confirm that 10 dead bodies have been recovered, while 11 people have been injured in the Sher Shah blast. Investigation is going on to ascertain the cause of the blast & necessary treatment is being provided to the injured,” Wahab tweeted. Media reports quoting police, however, confirmed 12 casualties.
Police said that the bank building was built on a narrow watercourse having sewerage and gas lines, making it difficult to ascertain whether the explosion was due to accumulation of gas in the sewerage line or something happened with the gas pipeline or explosive material was placed there.
“We have no idea whether it was a gas blast. Our first priority is the rescue operation and then we can determine the cause of the explosion,” said Sharjeel Kharal, Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) for the South region.
Footage of the blast showed a damaged building and debris on the ground along with damaged vehicles as rescue workers were trying to retrieve the injured. Some media reports quoting eyewitnesses claimed that many other people were feared still buried underneath the debris of the building. Excavators have been called to the site to remove the debris and rescue any persons trapped there.
A bomb disposal unit (BDU) was also summoned at the site as a precautionary measure, media reports said. According to the eyewitnesses account, being a Saturday, there were only nine employees of the bank reporting for duty.
Another eyewitness said he saw a few people fall into the watercourse, underneath the building, when the blast took place. Some media reports also said there was a second blast during the rescue and search operation when a few electric wires, which were being taken down, collided with the gas line but no loss of life was reported.
(Manas Dasgupta)