10 people killed and 59 injured in a suicide blast at Vehari Chowk in Multan

Lahore: At least 10 people were killed and 59 injured in a suicide blast at Vehari Chowk in Multan on Sunday night. Children and women were among the injured.The blast took place at crowded Bus Stand near Vehari Chowk.Rescue sources said the injured have been rushed to Nishtar Hospital for treatment where emergency has been declared.

The District Coordination Officer Salim Zahid Gondal has called the a loud explosion a bomb and not a cylinder blast.The explosion took place in a rickshaw with intense enough to crack windows of nearby buildings.

The rescue officials transported the bodies and those wounded to the hospital. An emergency has been declared at nearby hospital following the incident while those wounded are being given medical care.

The Nishtar Hospital management said that condition of some of the injured people is critical because of explosion’s intensity.

The bomb disposal squad is collecting evidence from the blast site. The eyewitnesses said that the explosion took place right after an individual entered in a rickshaw.

The police have surrounded the area and evidence is being collected. The Central Police Officer (CPO) Multan said that the investigation is underway to determine the nature of explosion whereas the DCO called it a bomb blast.

DCO told reporters that it was a suicide attack, not a cylinder blast as reported earlier. He said that two bodies found seemed suspicious.One may be suicide bomber and the other facilitator,he added.

The blast which was heard far and wide also damaged five rickshaws, one car, one motorcycle, and two shops.The dead and injured were shifted to Nishtar Hospital.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif  expressed deep grief and sorrow over loss of lives in the blast that took place in Multan.

According to a PM House statement, the Prime Minister directed the rescue agencies to speed up the relief efforts.He also directed the authorities concerned to provide special medical care to the injured. The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families.