Nine Killed as Oxygen Cylinder Explodes in Tharparkar Ambulance

Nine people have died after an oxygen cylinder exploded inside an ambulance at a rural health centre in Tharparkar, Sindh, in one of the deadliest medical transport accidents Pakistan has seen this year. The toll climbed to nine after one of the injured died while being shifted to Karachi for treatment, rescue officials said.
The ambulance, run by the People's Primary Healthcare Initiative, caught fire while staff were changing its oxygen cylinder at a Basic Health Unit Plus facility in Dano Dhandhal, in Nagarparkar tehsil. A pregnant woman was still inside the vehicle when the explosion triggered the blaze. Those killed included a PPHI dispenser, the ambulance driver, a watchman and another employee, along with the pregnant woman and two attendants. Two midwives and a female attendant were among the injured, who were moved to Civil Hospital Mithi.
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar has taken notice and sought details from the district's senior police and administration officials, while President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow and called for a swift, transparent investigation. Officials say expert teams from Mirpurkhas and Karachi have been called in, and the exact cause of the explosion has not yet been officially confirmed. The tragedy has renewed attention on emergency healthcare in Tharparkar, an arid district where residents depend heavily on public health facilities.
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