KHUAJND, August 23, 2008, Asia-Plus  - One person has been seriously injured in a café gas blast in Khujand, Sughd province.  

According to the Sughd firefighting service, the gas cylinder burst in the Café Fayz in Khujand Friday morning.  As a result of the explosion the café cook Orifjon Ismoilov was seriously injured.  Ismoilov was taken to a hospital with burns to 30-35% of his body, the source at the firefighting service said.

The firefighting service, which attributes the explosion to operational imperfection, says that it is not the first case of casual handling of energy-carrying devices in the city.  “In mid-August, a fire broke out in the house of a gasoline vendor, when he was pouring 120 liters of gasoline from one barrel to the other one,” said the source. “The damage caused by the fire exceeded 2,000 somonis.”