QUETTA: At least seven people, including five children, were killed and 25 others injured when a gas cylinder exploded inside a house in Chaman, Balochistan, on Thursday, police said.

According to initial findings, a large number of residents, including women and children, had gathered at a house in the Torpal area where lassi was being distributed when the explosion occurred.

Police officials said a 20-kilogram gas cylinder kept in the kitchen detonated, causing multiple rooms of the house to collapse and resulting in heavy casualties.

Rescue teams and law enforcement personnel rushed to the scene and shifted the bodies and injured to hospital for treatment and medico-legal formalities. A bomb disposal squad was also called to ascertain the exact nature of the explosion.

The incident comes days after a similar tragedy in Karachi, where at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed when a gas cylinder blast caused a residential building to collapse in the Soldier Bazaar area.

Last month, another gas cylinder explosion occurred at a hotel in Usta Muhammad town, injuring one employee and damaging the building, though other individuals present escaped unharmed.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the Chaman blast as concerns grow over recurring gas cylinder accidents in residential areas.