HUB, BALOCHISTAN: At least 35 people have been killed and several injured on Saturday in an explosion at the shrine of Shah Norani in Lasbela district of Balochistan, Edhi sources report.
Several pilgrims were present at the time of the blast – which left many women and children wounded. The explosion took place during the ‘dhamal’.
Emergency has been declared in hospitals including the Civil Hospital, and the injured are being shifted for medical treatments. Security forces and rescue teams facing difficulty reaching the site.
UPDATE:
No major hospital is located near the shrine and the injured will be shifted to Karachi for further treatment. Injured are being shifted in private vehicles.
“The critically injured will be transported to Karachi,” said Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti. He later said that a control room was set up to monitor the situation.
At least 50 ambulances and a medical team of the Sindh Health Department rushed to blast site.
Rescue teams of the army have been dispatched for Hub on the orders of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – army’s media wing – reported that ambulances and medics of the Pakistani Army have been sent to the blast site. Army’s assistance is required as there is no major medical facility nearby and the victims have to be shifted to Karachi.
The shrine is frequented by a large number of devotees on Friday and is visited by people from across the country. Iranian nationals also frequent the shrine.
