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dpa
Islamabad
At least 10 people died and more than a dozen were wounded in a blast in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Saturday, officials said.
“At least 10 people have lost their lives in the blast,” Waqas Ahmad, a spokesperson for the city police, said. Another 13 people were wounded. It is feared that the death toll may go up.
Sabir Memon, a doctor at the trauma centre of a Karachi hospital, said that at least six more people were in critical condition and being treated.
The nature of the blast is not yet known, but the possibility of an act of terrorism cannot be ruled out. Initial investigations suggest that the explosion was caused by leakage from a gas pipeline running through a drain next to a bank building, Ahmad said. The bank building collapsed due to the explosion and a police bomb disposal squad is investigating the site.
The incident jangled nerves because it came hours before Pakistan hosts the 17th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad. The group is to discuss the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Officials in the capital has already announced a three-day holiday, shut down mobile phone services and deployed a large number of security personnel in light of the threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Islamabad
At least 10 people died and more than a dozen were wounded in a blast in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Saturday, officials said.
“At least 10 people have lost their lives in the blast,” Waqas Ahmad, a spokesperson for the city police, said. Another 13 people were wounded. It is feared that the death toll may go up.
Sabir Memon, a doctor at the trauma centre of a Karachi hospital, said that at least six more people were in critical condition and being treated.
The nature of the blast is not yet known, but the possibility of an act of terrorism cannot be ruled out. Initial investigations suggest that the explosion was caused by leakage from a gas pipeline running through a drain next to a bank building, Ahmad said. The bank building collapsed due to the explosion and a police bomb disposal squad is investigating the site.
The incident jangled nerves because it came hours before Pakistan hosts the 17th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad. The group is to discuss the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Officials in the capital has already announced a three-day holiday, shut down mobile phone services and deployed a large number of security personnel in light of the threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
