As many as 12 people were injured, two of them seriously, in a gas leakage explosion occurred in the canteen of the Supreme Court of Pakistan building in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred during repair work on the building’s central air-conditioning system in the building’s basement.
The sudden explosion caused panic inside the building as the shockwaves shook the Supreme Court premises, prompting judges, lawyers, staff, and other employees to rush outside for safety.
The loud blast is said to have reverberated through the lower floors of the apex court complex, sending people running toward open areas.
Courtroom No 6 was badly damaged in the explosion, where moments earlier Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and Justice Malik Shahzad conducted hearing of a case.
Emergency protocols were quickly activated, and rescue teams and security personnel reached the site within minutes.
The injured workers, who were reportedly engaged in maintenance work near the AC plant, were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Their condition was said to be out of danger, according to hospital sources.
The cause of the explosion was being determined. The cafe in the basement is reserved for Supreme Court staff only.
Rescue officials said the injured have been shifted to the hospital for treatment while an investigation was under way to determine the cause.
Later talking to the newsmen outside the Supreme Court building, Islamabad IGP Nasir Rizvi confirmed the explosion occurred at 10:55 am in the canteen during repairs of the AC plant.
He said 12 people were injured, two of them seriously. Three of the injured were shifted to PIMS Burn Centre while nine were shifted to Polyclinic, he said and added, an injured technician has 80 percent burn injuries.
