• Factory owner, staff held
• Probe body formed on CM’s directive
• Labour unions blame govt
TOBA TEK SINGH: Twenty people, including seven members of the same family, lost their lives and seven others were injured in a massive steamer explosion apparently due to gas leak at a glue factory in Faisalabad on early Friday morning.
The explosion at the Crystal Chemical Factory also destroyed four neighbouring industrial units and nine houses in the Malikpur locality of Faisalabad.
Rescue workers and police shifted the deceased and the injured, including three critically injured, to the burn unit of Allied Hospital. The victims aged between one year and 62 years, according to officials.
In the meantime, the crime-scene unit and forensic unit of police collected evidence from the site, while the factory owner, Qaiser Chughtai, along with administrative staff allegedly went into hiding for some time.
While expressing grief over the loss of lives, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif extended condolences to the bereaved families and sought a report on the incident from Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar.
Subsequently, the commissioner formed a five-member inquiry committee and sought a report to determine responsibility for the incident.
Govt negligence blamed
National Trade Union Federation Secretary-General Nasir Mansoor, Labour Qaumi Movement Chairman Baba Latif Ansari, and Haqooq-i-Khalq Party Chief Farooq Tariq, in separate statements, blamed the government negligence for loss of lives.
While expressing concern over the tragic deaths of labourers and citizens, they said the government was responsible for negligence that allowed factory owners to endanger the lives of workers and residents by failing to adopt safety measures.
Owner held, FIR registered
Later, the Mansoorabad police arrested the factory owner and registered a case against him and others under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Pakistan Penal Code and Explosive Substances Act on a complaint of Sub-Inspector Ehtesham Abbas.
According to police, factory owner Qaiser Chughtai, manager Bilal Ali Imran, and six others were booked in the case, which was registered under Section 7 of the ATA; Sections 302, 324, 336-B, 440, 147, and 149 of the PPC, and Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act.
Later, factory manager Bilal Ali Imran, cook Khalid, and two workers, Zain and Atta Muhammad, were also taken into custody.
The FIR alleged that residents had repeatedly warned the factory owner and management not to store dangerous flammable chemicals in the factory, but the management continued to store them while throwing caution to wind.
The roofs of four factories — including the glue factory — and nine houses in the adjacent Shahab Town collapsed due to the powerful blast.
Victims identified
According to police, 20 people died in the incident. Most of them have been identified. It also stated that seven others were injured.
The deceased included seven members of the same family namely Shafiq, 62, his wife, Maqsooda, 55, their son Irfan, grandchildren Muqaddas, 13, Rehan, 12, Muhammad Ahmed, 10, and Azan, 4.
Also, electrical engineer Ashiq Hussain, and his three sons Obaid, 24, Omar, 22, and Bilal, 20, died under the debris when the roof of their house collapsed.
Residents of the same street, Rashid’s wife Fakhra, 40, their one-year-old son, Ali Hasnain, and two daughters Maham, 4 and Jannat, 3, also died under the rubble. The two brothers who died in the nearby embroidery factory, Waqas, 25, and Saim, 23, were residents of Shamsabad locality on Chak Jhumra Road. A worker of the affected factory, Fazal, also died.
Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2025
