RAWALPINDI: Two persons, including a man attempting to rescue people, were killed while four others injured on Monday when the roofofahouse collapsed as a result of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder exploding in Mazharabab, Ratta Amral.

Ubaidullah, resident of the house, who sustained burns and cuts, told Dawn from the hospital bed that due to gas loadshedding, he had been using LPG for cooking. He prepared a meal in the afternoon using the gas stove. `As I was leaving my house after having my meal, fire broke out,` he said.

Ubaidullah ran into the street shouting for help, and soon his neighbours gathered near the house. A Rescue 1122 ambulance and ñreñghters also arrived at the scene.

In the meantime, an ex plosion shook the house, causing the roof of the house to collapse, killing two AmjadHussain and Fazal Hussain and injuring four others including two girls. The four injured were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital where they were said to be in stable condition.

Fazal Hussain, who was rickshaw driver and resident of the neighbourhood, was returning home from the mosque when he saw Ubaidullah`s house on fire.

`Upon seeing the house on fire, my father tried to go upstairs to rescue the people but as he approached the house, the roof collapse d killing him on the spot,` Fazal Hussain`s son, told Dawn.

He said his brother, Saddam Hussain, fractured his leg and received head injuries.

Arsalan Khan, son of Ayub Khan who was also injured, told Dawn that majority of the residents of Mazharabad used liquefied gas cylinders due to unavailability of gas in winter. Staff Reporter