Dera Bugti: Six killed in landmine blast

Four OGDCL employees injured in separate attack claimed by Baloch Republican Army.

Six people were killed in a landmine explosion while four employees of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) were injured in a blast in Dera Bugti district on Wednesday.

A pick-up truck travelling from Pirkoh to Loop in Dera Bugti hit a landmine near Pathar Nala, setting off an explosion that killed four people, including a woman, instantly and injured 16 others, according to Dera Bugti District Police Officer Bashir Soomro.

Levies, police and other law enforcement personnel reached the scene and cordoned off the area.

The injured were taken to PPL hospital, where one of them succumbed to his wounds. A woman in critical condition was referred to Sadiqabad for treatment but died on the way.

“Six people were killed and 14 received shrapnel injuries. The victims belonged to the Bugti tribe,” Soomro said. The deceased were identified as Gul Sher, Hambo, Jangian, Vazir Khan and his wife, and the wife of Noroz Khan.

Meanwhile, a vehicle carrying OGDCL employees was heading to Sadiqabad from the Loti gas field when it was hit by a blast triggered by a remote device near Pishbogi. “The vehicle was escorted by security forces. The four injured were taken to Sadiqabad for treatment,” a senior official said.

The banned Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the attack on the OGDCL vehicle. A man identifying himself as Sarbaz Baloch and claiming to be a spokesman for the BRA said the organisation would carry out more of such attacks.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2011.