At least 50 dead after
suicide attack in Lahore park
Eye witnesses
said there were pools of blood and scattered body parts in the park, where a
large number of families, especially women and children, were present on a
Sunday evening. – DawnNews screengrab
LAHORE: At least 50
people have been killed in a suicide attack in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park of Iqbal
Town on Sunday evening. Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Salman Rafique
confirmed the death toll. Edhi sources add that over 200 are injured.
Iqbal Town Superintendent
Police Dr Muhammad Iqbal confirmed this was a suicide attack and took place at
a children's park, where a large number of families, especially women and
children, were present.
DIG Operations Captain
(Retd) Muhammad Usman said the head of the suicide bomber has been recovered.
Ball bearings have also been found at the site.
The area is a renowned
residential area of Lahore. The blast was just outside the exit gate and a few
feet (metres) away from the children's swings.
Eye witnesses said
there were pools of blood and scattered body parts across the site of the
attack.
‘Dead bodies everywhere’
"We took the
injured to hospitals on rickshaws and taxis," one eye witness said.
He added that the
crowd was "unusually large" because of Easter.
"The roads were
also jammed and queues of vehicles could be seen till Moon Market."
Screen grab
from outside the hospital
'No security'
Many eyewitnesses said
there was no security present in and around the park. A man, talking to
DawnNews, said:
"The park is huge
and has many entrance gates. There was almost negligible security personnel
present there."
A Rescue 1122
spokesman confirmed that an emergency call was received at around 6:44pm and
that over 20 ambulances reached the site.
An emergency has been
declared at all government hospitals in the city, and a heavy contingent of
police has cordoned off the area.
This is a developing
story and will be updated accordingly
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