Quetta - At least four people were killed and 11 others wounded in a blast at the parking lot of a hotel in Quetta’s Serena Chowk on Wednesday night, officials and hospital sources said.
According to police, the blast took place in the parking area of a hotel located near the Serena Chowk at Sharah-e-Zarghoon. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to Quetta’s Civil Hospital.
Mobile phone footage from the scene showed several vehicles in flames and ambulances rushing to the spot.
Personnel of law enforcement agencies reached the site and secured a perimeter around the site. The nature of the blast has yet to be ascertained. However, Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said it was a terrorist attack. He said emergency was declared at hospital.
Policemen among 11 injured in explosion
The bomb disposal squad was called in and a search for perpetrators was on in the vicinity. The bomb was planted inside a car.
Several vehicles parked in the area were damaged due to intensity of the blast, the police said.
Witnesses said soon after the blast, a fire brigade arrived in the parking area to put out the fire that some cars had caught. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and a cooling process was currently underway.
The blast, owing to its intensity, could be heard several kilometres away as well.
Police said they were trying to figure out the intensity of the blast. The area has been cordoned off and an investigation is underway.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said anti-state elements wanted to disrupt peaceful atmosphere of the country. He added that culprits will be taken to task. He said some policemen also sustained injuries in the explosion.
Inspector General of Balochistan Police said the blast occurred in the parking lot of a local hotel. CTD sealed the blast site, he added. DIG Azhar Ikram said no foreign delegation was staying in hotel at the time of explosion.