Bus blast mystery: Multiple causes of explosion emerge as probe continues

Massive blast outside Cantt railway station leaves many questions unanswered.

KARACHI:

Outside the Cantt railway station, blood splattered the road. Shoes and clothes were strewn all over. Broken electricity cables lined the pavements as the ill-fated bus burned.

A massive explosion ripped through an inter-city passenger bus on Saturday, killing six people and injuring more than 50 people. However, the actual cause of the blast has yet to be ascertained.

No evidence was found relating to the use of explosives in yet another “terror attack”. The police initially believed the blast was caused by a substandard CNG cylinder but the bus mechanic told reporters that the gas kit was not installed in the vehicle. The police then tried to shift the blame to the air conditioning compressor, but the mechanic ruled out the possibility, saying the AC was switched off due to the chilly weather.

“All hell broke loose [after the explosion]. The injured were shouting for help,” said Fazal Khan, a young man who works at a nearby hotel. “When there were no rescuers, passersby saved the people from burning by covering them with clothes or blankets. I saw people burning alive.”

“When explosives are used, the smell of gunpowder fills the air,” District South police chief DIG Shahid Hayat told The Express Tribune. “This wasn’t the case here.”

But the police did not rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack either. Evidence has been sent for forensic tests.

“The blast took place seconds after the bus took off,” said another eyewitness Dilawar Khan, who runs a teashop near the Cantt station. “It was a massive explosion, I even fell off my chair,” he said. One of his workers had just come back after collecting money from the passengers in the bus when the explosives went off.



A senior bomb disposal expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, believed it was a terrorist attack. “[Of what we had heard about CNG and AC] everything has changed after coming here,” he said while inspecting the bodies at Jinnah hospital’s morgue. “Most probably, this was a terror activity. These injuries cannot be caused by a CNG cylinder or AC compressor.”

AC compressor cannot have such a huge impact, an electrician, Danish, told The Express Tribune. “Going by what happened to the bus, at least I can’t imagine a compressor causing such devastation,” he said.

Apparently some new type of explosive substances was used by terrorists, said a senior Crime Investigation Department officer. “But nothing could be said about its nature.”

No solid conclusions could be drawn but over half a dozen lives were lost and dozens more were wounded. Most of the injured were pushcart, roadside vendors who were selling second-hand clothing and shoes. There were no injuries of ball bearings, said Dr Seemin Jamali, the head of Jinnah hospital’s emergency department. Most cases were of burns and multiple fractures. Earlier, Karachi police chief Iqbal Mehmood had ruled out the possibility of terrorism, saying the blast was accidental. “Most probably the air conditioner compressor exploded as not even the windows of nearby buildings were shattered,” he said, adding that there were threats of terrorism, especially on New Year’s eve.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2012.