Deadly explosion in Lahore caused by gas leakage, not bomb: Pak govt minister

Pakistani minister Rana Sanaullah’s statement on Friday countered that of the Counter-Terrorism Department, which said on Thursday that a bomb caused the explosion.

A Pakistani government minister said on Friday that investigators have concluded that a deadly explosion the previous day in the city of Lahore was caused by a gas leak from a cooking cylinder, not a bomb.

Pakistani security officials examine the site after a bomb attack in Lahore on February 23, 2017. (AFP)

According to Rana Sanaullah, experts found no traces of explosives at the scene of the blast in a restaurant in the eastern Pakistani city.

His statement on Friday countered that of the Counter-Terrorism Department, which said on Thursday that a bomb caused the explosion.

Initially, police said eight died but Sanaullah revised the death toll to seven killed.

He said the explosion was obviously an “accident” and is in no way linked to a string of militant attacks that have killed more than 125 people over the past two weeks across Pakistan.