At least Ten people were injured when an explosion ripped through a rickshaw in Lahore’s Chauburji area on Friday.
The blast occurred at around 11:15am and initial reports suggested it was a cylinder explosion.
However, there has been no confirmation on the cause but a spokesperson for the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department said a “terrorism angle” could not be ruled out at this stage.The official said the injured include the rickshaw driver and one of the five victims was in critical condition.
Other police officials said it could be a remote-controlled explosion as a suspicious device was found near the blast site.They said there were also clear marks of ball bearings on the charred and mangled wreckage of the rickshaw. However, they said forensic teams and investigators are still working to ascertain the cause.
An eyewitness named Asghar said he was floored by the impact of the explosion. “There were people standing close to the rickshaw. The blast ripped the clothes off their bodies … their shoes were also on fire,” he said
The victims have been identified as Sadaf, aged 35, d/o Muhammad Nazeer; Azeem, 18, s/o Muhammad Shaukat; Aleem, 49, s/o Akhtar; Asim, 28, s/o Mahmood; Adeel, 28, s/o Bashir; Saleem, 55, s/o Azam; and the rickshaw driver 28-year-old Ramzan s/o Wazir.
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