Footage shows the infrastructure of the building has been badly damaged. The blast is suspected to have taken place on the second floor of a building

At least five people have died and 20 others injured in an explosion in a multi-storey building near Maskan Chowrangi in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Iqbal area on Wednesday, according to officials from the Edhi Foundation.

 

All injured and deceased have been taken to Patel Hospital, the officials added.

 

Footage shows the infrastructure of the building has been badly damaged. The blast is suspected to have taken place on the second floor of a building.

Eyewitnesses reported that windows of nearby buildings as well as some vehicles were also damaged.

Nature of the blast has not yet been ascertained. However, Mubina Town police SHO said that it "seems to be a cylinder blast", adding that the bomb disposal squad is arriving to verify the cause of the explosion.

 

Law enforcement agencies and rescue officials have reached the site. LEAs have cordoned off the area.

 

CM takes notice

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and directed the Karachi commissioner to submit a detailed report in this regard.

 

He also directed authorities to ensure medical treatment for those injured in the incident and expressed grief over the deaths reported.

Speaking to the media, Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Shallwani reiterated that the nature of the blast could only be determined after an inquiry. He stated that officials from the Sindh Building Control Authority were present at the scene.

 

"As you can see the building is damaged, it will have to be demolished," he said.

 

PPP Minister Saeed Ghani, who visited the site of the blast, said that it seemed the explosion occurred in a residential building. He added that the cause of the blast would be determined later.

 

Responding to a question, Ghani said it could not be confirmed whether the explosion was a terrorist attack until further investigation was conducted.

 

Sindh Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Mahar has also taken notice of the incident and directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) East to "immediately submit" a report on the details of the blast and steps taken by the police.

 

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed grief over the lives lost in the incident, a statement by the party said.

 

Bilawal directed officials concerned to provide the best possible medical treatment to those injured and expressed the resolve to protect the lives and the property of those residing in the metropolis.

PTI Minister Ali Zaidi offered "prayers and sympathies" to the victims of the blast. He called on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, who visited the scene, said that the Sindh government should compensate the victims as well as those whose homes had been destroyed in the explosion.

 

A day earlier, five people were wounded when a bomb exploded at the entrance of a bus terminal near Sheerin Jinnah Colony.

 

Police investigators said it was an improvised explosive device (IED) that was planted at the gate of the terminal. According to them, a bicycle rigged with some explosive material [the IED] was parked at the site a little after 3:30pm. It blew up wounding five people.

COURTESY DAWN NEWS!

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