20 killed in chemical factory blast in Pakistan’s Punjab

According to Faisalabad Commissioner, four factories were operating in the Malikpur area of Faisalabad when a fire erupted in one of the factories due to gas leakage and engulfed the other factories as well.

Lahore: At least 20 people were killed and several injured following a explosion in a chemical factory in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday, officials said.

The incident took place in the morning in the Faisalabad district of Punjab, some 130 km from Lahore.

A report of the district administration on Friday morning said the incident took place early after a boiler at the factory exploded, causing the collapse of the nearby structures.

However, the Punjab Emergency Services Rescue 1122 and Faisalabad Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar later attributed the explosion to a gas leak.

According to Anwar, four factories were operating in the Malikpur area of Faisalabad when a fire erupted in one of the factories due to gas leakage and engulfed the other factories as well.

He said that a massive explosion also caused the collapse of seven adjacent houses, resulting in the death of 20 people.

"The rescue teams have recovered 20 dead bodies, including six children and two women from the rubble so far, and seven injured have been shifted to the hospital," Anwar said.

He said that most of the people killed in the blast were the residents of the houses adjacent to the chemical factory.

A five-member inquiry committee has been formed to probe the matter, he added.

According to Rescue 1122, the fire at the factory has been completely doused. "Debris from the collapsed houses has been cleared, while the removal of the factory rubble is still underway."

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the explosion.