1 dies, 6 hurt in low-intensity Karachi blast

KARACHI A person was killed and six others sustained injuries when a low-intensity explosive device went off in the Soldier Bazaar residential area of Hindu Para Friday night. According to the eye-witnesses, the explosion occurred in a pile of rock stones during the rush hours at 9:45pm that injured around four people, belong to a minority. When I reached home from the office the blast took place that caused panic here Amir Farooqi, an eye-witness told The Nation. According to initial reports, one person was killed while at least six others sustained burn injuries when a low-intensity explosion took place in Hindu Para area of Solider Bazaar No 1. The blast is said to have took place outside the office of the MQM Minority Affairs. Following the explosion, a heavy contingent of the law-enforcement agencies and personnel of the bomb disposal squad (BDS) rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. Volunteers from various welfare organizations immediately reached there and shifted the injured to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). At first, four injured people, identified as Deepak Kumar, 27, Sohail Ismail, Sunil, 19 and Sanjay Kishan 48 were shifted to the hospital while two more, identified as Shahid and Kundan were later taken to the CHK. Doctors at the CHK, said that two of the injured - Deepak Kumar and Shahid had sustained critical injuries. DIG (South Zone) Ghulam Nabi Memon said that nothing could be said about the nature of the incident as the BDS experts were inspecting the site and trying to ascertain the nature of the explosion. He said that the police had to preserve the crime scene first by cordoning off the area. SP Jamshed Town Amir Farooqui who was also present at the scene told The Nation, Debris of construction material was dumped there where the explosion had taken place which also damaged around three motorcycles parked nearby. On the other hand, SHO Irfan Kobra said that it seemed as if some chemical stuff had been dumped there in the debris of construction material which blew up with a big bang. Most of the injured were those who had come to Hindu Para to attend the wedding of a relative, the officer added.