NEED TO KNOW
- A bride and groom were killed in a gas cylinder explosion hours after their wedding party in Islamabad, Pakistan
- They are among eight people killed in the blast on Jan. 11, while at least a dozen others were also injured
- The chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Yusuf Raza Gilani, called the fatal explosion “a heart-wrenching incident that turned celebrations into mourning,” per the BBC
A couple in Pakistan’s capital were still soaking up their newlywed status when the celebrations took a tragic turn.
In the early hours of Sunday, Jan. 11, at least eight people — including the newlywed couple — were killed in Islamabad when a gas cylinder exploded, ABC News and the BBC reported, citing local authorities. Islamabad Police also confirmed the blast in a statement on Facebook.
Relatives and other guests who had come to celebrate the couple were sleeping at a home in a residential area of the capital city following the wedding celebration when the cylinder exploded, the BBC reported, citing the father of the groom.
The blast caused part of the home — including the roof and parts of walls — to collapse, and damaged three other nearby residences, according to ABC News and the BBC.
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Emergency workers alleged to the BBC that a gas leakage caused the blast, though the circumstances of the explosion are still under investigation.
First responders carried many of the injured, who were trapped under rubble, out on stretchers, and detection dogs were used to ensure that rescuers located everyone trapped in the debris, per the BBC.
The injured were given immediate medical attention, according to Islamabad Police.
Alongside the bride and groom, there were at least six other fatalities — including family members and other guests. Over a dozen people suffered non-fatal injuries, the BBC reported.
The groom’s father, identified as Hanif Masih, said that wedding guests went to bed around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday, per the outlet. The explosion reportedly took place four hours later, at 7 a.m.
The chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, Yusuf Raza Gilani, called the fatal explosion “a heart-wrenching incident that turned celebrations into mourning,” according to the BBC.
The Pakistani politician also shared concern over safe use of gas cylinders, which are common in the country for fuel and cooking due to low natural gas pressure and have previously been leaked to other fatal incidents.
Incidents like the Jan. 11 blast, Gilani said, “demand that relevant departments fulfil their responsibilities seriously and ensure safety measures.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, also addressed the incident, expressing his condolences — and, like Gilani, underscoring the importance of safety measures around the use of gas cylinders — in a statement on Facebook, penned in Urdu.
The prime minister “expresses condolences on the loss of precious lives” in the blast and “prays for the speedy recovery of the injured,” the statement said.
Islamabad Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, Jan. 11.
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