QUETTA: Just a day after the death of a trader and his three sons in a gas leak incident, four children died and their mother, a sister and another woman suffered injuries on Wednesday in Badizai Colony here after gas leak from a heater in their room triggered a powerful blast.

The blast destroyed the room and its wreakage fell on all members of the family.

The children were identified as Qudratullah, 7; Forestay Bibi, 7; Janan Khan, 14; and Baseer Ahmed, 3.

It was a third gas-related incident over the last one week that took place in Quetta, claiming lives of 13 people, including a newly-married couple.

According to police, the tragic incident took place in the house of Hanif Khan in Badizai Colony of Khorotabad area.

The police said that the wife of Hanif Khan, his three children, a grandson, a daughter and another woman were sleeping in the room without switching off the gas heater due to freezing temperature.

The gas heater got extinguished due to lack of oxygen in the room after some time as the room was fully covered with no ventilation point, but it kept releasing the gas which was accumulated in the room and when late in the night a member of the family tried to lit the heater, a huge blast took place that blew up the room and a portion of the house caught fire where the family members were sleeping.

As a result of the huge blast and fire, three sons, a grandson of Hanif Khan were buried under the wreckage and were killed on the spot. His wife, daughter and another woman suffered burns and injuries.

Police rushed to the area soon after receiving the report about the incident and shifted bodies of the victims and the injured to the Bolan Medical Collage Hospital.

“Two women and a girl were admitted to Burns Unit of the BMC hospital,” the police said.

“The tragic incident took place due to gas leakage from a heater in the room,” a senior police officer said, adding that bodies of the victims were handed over to family members after completing medico-legal formalities.

In another gas-related incident, a police officer of Shalkot Police Station died of gas suffocation while his wife fell unconscious.

According to police, Sub Inspector Shabbir Ahmed and his wife slept in their home at Sabzal Road area without switching off the gas heater which was extinguished due to lack of oxygen in the room, but kept releasing the gas.

“The police officer died of gas suffocation and his wife fell unconscious late in the night,” a senior police officer said, adding that on receiving the information about the incident, police rushed to the area and shifted the body of the police officer and his unconscious wife to the Bolan Medical College Hospital. The wife of the police officer was admitted to the hospital.

Last week, a newly married couple and five members of a family died of gas explosion in the Etihad Colony in gas-related incidents in the provincial capital.

A trader and his three sons lost their lives on Tuesday in a similar incident.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2023