Quetta, May 11 At least 35 people suffered burn injuries after fire erupted at a customs warehouse in Mastung area of Pakistan's Balochistan province, which caused explosion of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker, local media reported on Monday.
The fire broke at the customs facility in the Lakpass area, located on the Quetta-Karachi highway, on Sunday and rapidly spread to a parking area, engulfing several vehicles before reaching the LPG tanker, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
"A bowser carrying LPG came under huge flames of fire and exploded in the parking area of the customs check post, which caused massive destruction,” an official stated, adding that goods and other items worth billions of rupees were burnt in the fire.
Four of the 35 people injured remain in critical condition.
The fire erupted in a warehouse where customs officials stored seized goods, including precious, smuggled items. It soon engulfed several loaded trucks, other vehicles, and the LPG bowser parked nearby for clearing. The situation escalated following the explosion in the tanker. Mastung Deputy Commissioner and other officials narrowly escaped the explosion.
Emergency services reached at the site of the incident and the injured people were taken to hospitals in Quetta.
Firefighting efforts were impacted by the intensity of the fire and logistical challenges. At least 10 fire tenders tried to bring the fire under control. However, strong winds, the presence of other flammable tankers, and narrow access to the site of the incident affected the operation, Dawn reported. The cause of the fire has not been determined yet.
In February, a report had revealed that most of the buildings in Pakistan's capital Islamabad had not obtained fire safety certifications.
Following the massive fire incident in Karachi's Gul Plaza mall which claimed lives of 79 people, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) conducted a survey of buildings regarding fire safety and hazard control in Islamabad. A survey of 6,500 buildings was conducted in Islamabad, Dawn reported.
In the survey, the CDA found that majority of the buildings had not obtained approval for their fire safety plans and the completion/fire safety certifications for these buildings were not issued. During the survey, an inspection of 300 government buildings was conducted. The information was shared during a meeting chaired by CDA chairman Ali Randhawa at CDA headquarters.
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