Ten people were killed and more than 70 injured in a powerful car bomb blast on busy Cinema Road, near Khyber Bazaar, here on Friday evening. Fourteen wounded persons were stated to be in critical conditions. The car, which exploded with a big bang, was parked in front of the Tasweer Mahal cinema. The sound of the blast was heard in a radius of more than two km.
Majority of the wounded persons were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), situated near the site of the explosion. Hospital authorities confirmed 7 deaths in the blast. A number of nearby buildings, including music centres and restaurants, were damaged in the blast.
Police later cordoned off the area, while the bomb disposal squad collected samples from the venue of the incident. Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, senior police official, said that the car was parked in front of the cinema. He said that the blast was very powerful. Although security was alert, but there was no prior information about occurrence of such incident, he added.
The provincial government declared emergency in all health facilities of the provincial metropolis. Some of the critically injured victims were shifted to intensive care unit (ICU). Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Safwat Ghayur admitted that there was security lapse, but added that the police had no prior intelligence about such incident. He said that 40 to 50 kg explosive material was planted in the car. The CCPO said 75 people were injured in the blast.