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KARACHI: A powerful explosion destroyed an outlet of Shell Pakistan in Khayaban-e-Bahria, Defence Housing Society Phase-V here Wednesday afternoon.

At least 18 persons present at the petrol pump received burn injuries. An official of Shell Pakistan confirming the report of the blast said that the number of casualties was not yet known.

The injured were shifted to Jinnah Hospital where the condition of two was said to be serious.

Names

Those injured were identified as Zafar Iqbal, son of Mohammed Iqbal, 25, Mohammed Nawaz s/o Himayat Khan, Mudassar s/o Younus, 22, Zahid Shah s/o Mujahid Shah, 20, Haleem Khan s/o Ferozeuddin, 26, Shahid Rehman s/o Azizur Rehman, 28, Fareed s/o Latif, 17, Allah Dad s/o Noor Khan, 64, Kamran s/o MOhammed Juma, 24, Safeer Khan s/o Zareef, 25, Tariq, 30, Basharat s/o Misaal Khan 36, Mohammed Usman 4 and manager of the pump Mirza Sadiq Beg and some others were unidentified.

Cause n' Damages

Some vehicles were also damaged by the blast and the fire which caught the petrol pump and the vehicles present at the pump. The flames were seen at a very long distance.

There were no immediate reports available regarding the type of the explosive device.

IG Sindh Police Speaks

IG Sindh Sayyed Kamal Shah said that the technical experts were still investigating if the blast was caused by the gas leakage or any explosive device.

He however said that evidences suggest that the blast was caused by the gas leakage.

He said that there were no immediate reports of deaths, however several people were injured. Jinnah hospital sources informed that 14 injured were brought in, some of them with severe burn injuries.

CNG Co. Denies Police Version

The company supplying CNG to the damaged petrol pump in DHA Karachi area has denied police version that the explosion was the result of the blast in the CNG cylinder or station.

The site manager of the Green Fuels, Sayyed Jawad Hyder Naqvi, informed newsmen on the spot, while showing them he CNG station, that not even one percent damage was occurred to the CNG station while the gas cylinders inside also remained in the position despite blast.

Sayyed Jawad Hyder informed that from 25th December, the CNG operations were cancelled and station was closed after carbon was noted in the supply of the gas.

Sayyed said that the petrol company and petrol pump posses the record regarding the closure of the station. He clarified that the cause of the explosion can be any other than CNG cylinders or station.

But according to an eye-witness one of the injured told him that there was a smell of gas before the blast.

Sindh Govt Spokesman

A spokesman of Government of Sindh said that the blast at the petrol pump in Defence area on Wednesday was purely accidental in nature caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder.

The spokesman clarified that the explosion was not as a result of any bomb blast. He said the explosion took place while transferring gas from one cylinder to another.

"There is no need to panic as no sabotage or terrorist action was involved," the spokesman said.

Fire Breaks Out

An earlier report said that a blaze erupted in Defence area near Sultan Masjid on Wednesday, a Fire Brigade official said.

He said that it was not known about the cause of the blaze adding it could not be confirmed that the fire was caused by bomb blast. Reports of any casualty were not yet confirmed.