Karachi, Dec 18 (UNI) A sewage gas explosion that caused a bank building to collapse in Karachi’s Shershah area on Saturday blew away hundreds of currency notes on the street, while an iron safe was also lying in the rubble. People were seen picking up currency notes from the crash site, while some people were also seen trying to take away a safe.
The explosion also caused the floors of at least three car showrooms to cave in to the nullah and led to the deaths of 14 people.
The currency notes were picked up by people, while a bank safe, which was intact, was seen among the debris and some people tried to pull it away, Samaa TV reported.
Another bank safe and an ATM were flung into the nullah.
Several people pocketed cash from the scene. "A man told me that he saw two bundles of Rs5,000 notes in the hands of one person," a security guard told the news site.
Ali Habib, a senior bank office, told journalists that all the cash has insurance cover and customers will not incur any loss.
He said that there were no lockers in the bank.
The bank official said they were assessing the financial damage and were more concerned about the loss of human lives.
The floors collapsed into the nullah after the bank floor caved in, and the bodies of the employee working there were trapped in the rubble.
The sewerage water entered the car showrooms and offices.
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board staff were trying to pump out water from the showrooms.
There are several car businesses in the Paracha Chowk area.
The father of FixIt founder Alamgir Khan, Dilawar Khan, died in the blast. He owned one of the three car showrooms.
UNI/RN