At least 18 people were killed and 21 were injured Friday when a boiler exploded at a glue factory in eastern Pakistan, collapsing the building, damaging nearby homes and triggering a massive fire that sent panic through the neighborhood, officials said.
Police said they arrested the factory manager and were looking for the factory owner, who fled shortly after the explosion at the industrial facility in Faisalabad, a city in Punjab province.
The cause of the explosion, was not immediately known, according to Usman Anwar, the Punjab police chief. Police later said a gas leakage may have caused it.
It was not clear how many of the 18 dead were factory workers and how many were local residents. Earlier reports said at least 15 workers were killed.
Local administrator Raja Jahangir said an investigation was underway to determine how construction permits allowed the factory to be built in a residential area of Faisalabad, in violation of building laws.
The explosion "completely flattened” the factory, Jahangir said, adding that rescuers spent hours pulling bodies and survivors out of the rubble. Several of the injured were in critical condition.
Witnesses said the blast was so powerful that it collapsed nearby homes and hurled debris across the streets. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed her condolences and ordered authorities to ensure the best possible medical care for the injured.
Muhammad Iqbal, one of the injured at the local hospital, said it felt "like an earthquake” and that ”roofs and walls of nearby houses collapsed.” He said his wife and son were also injured, but they were in a stable condition.
Nadeem Zafar, 45, said he rushed out of his home after hearing a deafening boom and described the scene of chaos that ensued.
"I saw flames and thick smoke rising,” he told The Associated Press over the phone. "People were screaming, running in every direction, calling for help."
Ambulances and rescuers arrived quickly and began pulling bodies out of the rubble in the Malikpur neighborhood, he said, adding that many around him initially thought it was a bomb or some sort of projectile.
Poor safety standards are a frequent cause of industrial accidents and factory fires in Pakistan. In 2024, a dozen workers were injured in a similar boiler explosion at a textile mill in Faisalabad. Also last week, a blast at a firecrackers factory in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi killed four people.
