12 killed in gas cylinder blast in SW Pakistan

Islamabad, Dec 20  At least 12 people were killed and 13 others injured in a gas cylinder blast in a market in the Lasbela district of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, media reports said on Tuesday.
Deputy Commissioner of Lasbela Murad Khan Kasi told media that a cylinder blasted at a shop during its refilling process on Monday, causing a huge explosion and spreading fire to the adjacent shops in the Bela area of Lasbela.
The official said 25 people received burn injuries who were shifted to the Civil Hospital in the neighboring southern port city of Karachi, adding that 12 of the wounded succumbed to their injuries during their treatment overnight.
The official feared that the death toll might rise because most of the injured were in critical condition.
The explosion-triggered fire also engulfed other cylinders stored in the shop, leading to more blasts that have destroyed four neighboring shops and around 12 vehicles parked nearby.