ISLAMABAD: At least seven people were injured on Tuesday after a gas leak caused an explosion on the campus of the National University of Modern Languages, police said.
The blast occurred at about 4pm when accumulated gas ignited after a short circuit, Islamabad Inspector General of Police Ali Nasir Rizvi told reporters.
He said the university had restored its gas supply at around 3:30pm, but gas had built up inside a prayer room next to a clerk’s office. According to the IG, five students, a clerk and a junior assistant were inside when the explosion took place.
The clerk sustained burns to more than sixty per cent of his body, the junior assistant also suffered burn injuries and the students received minor burns. All seven were under treatment, with six declared out of danger by the hospital, Rizvi said.
He added that teams from Operations, Investigations, Special Branch and the Counter Terrorism Department examined the site and found no indication of explosives. Police concluded that the blast resulted from a gas leak and a short circuit.
Rizvi said all gas connections were shut as a precaution and the university administration was directed to inspect the pipelines. He also instructed officials to assess the structural stability of the affected building.
Rescue 1122 control in charge Subhan said the first call came in at 4:06pm. He said initial details were unclear, but administrators later informed the emergency service that the blast was caused by a gas cylinder or pipeline leak. Firefighters brought the flames under control soon after.
He said the damage was confined to a single room and the rest of the building was not affected. A police spokesperson also confirmed the cause as a gas leak.
Footage from the campus showed students evacuating as emergency workers tackled the blaze, while bystanders assisted an injured person on the ground.
The institution, originally the National Institute of Modern Languages, was upgraded to a university in 2002 and offers programmes from undergraduate to PhD level.
