In a city of ticking time bombs, thanks to free-for-all LPG cylinders and fireworks, an explosion in an illegally operating fireworks factory on Saturday claimed seven lives and injured several others.

The deafening bang, heard kilometers away, razed the ground-floor structure in goth Major Baqar in Latifabad unit 10, in which the factory, reportedly owned by Asad Khan, was operating. The death toll, initially reported at three, surged to seven within a couple of hours. The spokesman of Liaquat University Hospital confirmed receiving four dead bodies, including three burnt beyond recognition.

The injured include individuals who worked at the factory. Of them, 45-year-old Sheraz Sanaullah sustained 100% burns, 30-year-old Waqas Arshad sustained 95% burns, and 40-year-old Naeem Yousuf sust

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