11 killed, 18 injured in fire at Herat gas company

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Nearly a dozen people were killed and 18 others wounded when the office of a gas company caught fire in the capital of western Herat province, officials said on Tuesday.

Ten children and a woman of a family were killed, provincial hospital spokesman Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai told Pajhwok Afghan News hours after the predawn incident in Kamar Kalagh area.

Four of the injured were in critical condition, he said, adding they had been sent abroad for medical treatment. The spokesman gave no further details of the inferno that continued till 3am.

Ihsanullah Hayat, the governor’s spokesman, confirmed the fire that erupted at the Arya Turkman Nabizada Gas Company at 11pm. The victims included area residents and company workers, he said.

Offices of other firms in the neighbourhood were also damaged, the spokesman said, estimating the losses at 42 million afghanis. “Firefighters rushed to the scene in time, otherwise the casualties and losses would have been higher.”

Meanwhile, resident Hayat linked the incident to company workers’ negligence. However, he stopped short of giving further details.

mds/mud

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