Shah Noorani Shrine bombing Death toll rises to 30

HUB: At least 30 people including women and children were killed and more than 100 have been injured in a huge blast in Shah Noorani shrine near near Hub in Balochistan’s Lasbella district on Saturday evening, rescue sources told Geo News.

According to Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti the explosion took place when the devotees were engaged in dhamaal.

He said ambulances and rescue teams from Lasbela and Hub rushed to Shah Noorani, located about 100km north of Karachi.

“It takes some three hours from Hub to reach the Shah Noorani shrine which is located in difficult mountainous area where mobile phone service also does not work”, he added.

He said helicopter ambulance could not be used because of darkness.

In-charge Edhi Foundation Lasbella Hakeem Lassi while confirming the death toll, over 100 people have been injured

He said that injured were being shifted to a hospital for medical treatment.

Lassi said that more than 10 ambulances of Edhi foundation have reached the blast site and rescue efforts were underway.

Director-General Inter Services Public Relation Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on Twitter said that Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has ordered maximum assistance for evacuation and on-spot medical treatment of the injured.

He said that medical teams from Karachi and Khuzdar were reaching the blast site.

Talking to Geo News, Additional Deputy Commissioner Lasbella Tariq Mengal said that 500 to 600 people were in the shrine at the time of blast.

Mengal said that many people on Saturdays and Sundays arrive in the shrine to participate in the dhamaal, a traditional folk dance.

He said that the authorities were trying to shift the injured to Karachi for medical treatment.

Rescue teams and law enforcers are facing difficulty in reaching the site of the blast as it is located in province’s remote area.

“Every day, around sunset, there is a dhamaal here, and there are large numbers of people who come for this”, said Nawaz Ali, the shrine’s custodian.

No group has taken responsibility of the blast so far.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the bomb blast in the Shah Noorani shrine.

He directed the concerned authorities to speed up the rescue activities.

Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has also condemned the incident and sought report from Inspector General Frontier Constabulary.