Oxygen Cylinder Blast in Parked Ambulance Kills at Least 10 in Pakistan's Tharparkar District

At least 10 people, including a patient, were killed when an oxygen cylinder exploded inside a parked ambulance at a government run medical facility in Tharparkar district in Pakistan's Sindh province, police and hospital officials said. The explosion happened overnight on Thursday at a Basic Health Unit Plus facility in the Nagarparkar area, at Dano Dhandhal, according to the reports.

District Police Chief Arif Aziz said the explosion occurred overnight in Tharparkar district. The victims included medical facility staff, patients and their relatives, officials said. Local police official Khalil Abro said patients were being transferred to another hospital when the blast occurred.

What happened at the health facility

The ambulance was operated by the Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative, known as PPHI. It caught fire while staff were changing its oxygen cylinder at the facility, according to the hospital administration. A pregnant woman was still inside the ambulance when staff began fitting the cylinder, the administration said.

Assistant Commissioner Nagarparkar Erum Karim Narejo said the ambulance was parked at the health facility when the explosion occurred. Images circulating on social media and television showed flames engulfing the ambulance with one of its doors open. Another image showed the charred frame of the vehicle outside a building as people gathered nearby.

Who was killed and who was hurt

Police said those killed included a PPHI dispenser, the ambulance driver, a watchman and another employee of the facility. Earlier information from rescue officials said the victims also included a pregnant woman and two attendants, and the Associated Press report said a patient was among the dead.

The death toll rose to 10 after one of the injured died while being taken to Karachi, rescue officials said. Two midwives and a female attendant at the basic health centre were among the injured, according to the reports. The reports did not name the people who were killed.

Investigation and official response

Sindh Home Minister and Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took notice of the incident and sought details from the Tharparkar senior superintendent of police and the deputy commissioner. A provincial government spokesperson said initial reports suggest an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ambulance, and expert teams from Mirpurkhas and Karachi were called in to examine the evidence.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief over the deaths and called for a swift and transparent investigation to establish the cause of the explosion. In a statement from his office, he urged authorities to strengthen safety measures, extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a speedy recovery.