MITHI (The Thursday Times) — Nine people were killed when an oxygen cylinder exploded inside an ambulance at a government-backed health centre in Sindh’s Tharparkar district, setting the vehicle ablaze as staff prepared to move a new mother to hospital, officials said on Thursday.
The blast happened on Wednesday night at a Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) facility in Dano Dhandhal in Nagarparkar taluka, Mithi Deputy Commissioner Hameed Jagirani told Dawn. The cylinder exploded while it was being set up for a woman who had given birth to a baby boy at the basic health unit and was being transferred to the District Headquarters Hospital in Mithi with post-surgical complications.
Health staff were among the dead, PPHI district manager Ibrahim Kumbhar said. Rescue officials identified three of the victims as Jaswant, ambulance driver Ishaq Thebo and Pandhi Rajar; the other bodies were badly charred. Five people, including hospital staff, suffered serious burns and were referred to Mithi, and police said they were also looking at other angles.
Inquiry and compensation
President Asif Ali Zardari ordered a transparent inquiry into the cause of the fire and told authorities to tighten safety measures, the Presidency said. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced Rs2 million in compensation for each of the nine victims’ families, ordered his own inquiry and sent local MPA Qasim Soomro to Nagarparkar to oversee relief.
Local residents blamed poor facilities at the PPHI-run hospitals in Tharparkar, one of Pakistan’s poorest districts, for the disaster.
