An air-condition blast has rocked the Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday, reportedly severely injuring at least 15 persons, reported local media. Videos doing round on social media shows explosion causing utter chaos. Express Tribune stated the LPG gas cylinder burst in the cafeteria of the court, in the basement of the premises.

Giving information on the incident, Islamabad Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi earlier said that a gas explosion occurred in the Supreme Court canteen at 10:55am, quoted the report. He confirmed that 12 people were injured.

“The condition of two individuals is critical,” the IG was quoted as saying. However, Pakistan’s news outlet Dawn reported the explosion has later been linked to an AC and not the LPG cylinder. An official statement on the incident is still awaited.

The Islamabad police has reached the site for rescue and safety operation. “IG Islamabad Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, along with DIG Security Muhammad Atiq Tahir and SSP Operations Muhammad Shoaib Khan, visited the Supreme Court regarding its security perspective and other security arrangements,” the official handle of Islamabad police said on X in Urdu.

Emergency procedures have been activated as lawyers and court officials evacuated the building and moved to open areas outside. The authorities immediately deployed the bomb disposal squad for precaution.

The IG said there was pre-existing gas leak and the maintenance work was being carried out on the AC system which could be the reasons behind the incident.