A vehicle of the volunteer rescue services Edhi foundation lies destroyed next to buildings that collapsed following a car bomb. PHOTO: AFP
The second and third blasts were suicide blasts at a snooker club on Alamdar Road.
The government has announced three days of mourning over the tripple blasts in the city on Thursday. The government has also announced Rs1 million as compensation for heirs of victims.
Alamdar Road blast
Later in the evening, a suicide bomber exploded himself at a snooker club on Alamdar Road, Bomb Disposal Squad said.
As rescue workers, police and media personnel descended on the scene, a second set of timed explosives planted in a vehicle went off.
CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair said at least 81 people were killed and as many as 121 people were injured in these blasts. The injured have been shifted to Combined Military Hospital. At least 50 of the injured are described to be in critical condition.
“The whole four-storey building of the snooker club collapsed due to the huge impact of the blast. The snooker club was located in the basement of the building,” DIG Investigation Hamid Shakeel told The Express Tribune.
The dead include DSP Quaidabad, SHO Quaidabad Jaffar Khan among nine policemen. A private channel's cameraman Imran Shaikh and reporter Saifur Rehman Baloch also lost their lives along with a news agency's photographer. Four rescue volunteers of the Edhi service were also killed.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Quaidabad, also sustained serious injuries in the blast.
Quetta police and BDS have arrived at the blast site and cordoned off the area. Rescue work is still underway with heavy machinery requested for clearing debris at the site.
Power supply in the city has been disrupted after the incident.
Banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhanvi called news offices to claim responsibility for the attack.
Shahrah-e-Iqbal blast
At least 12 people were killed and 27 others were injured when a blast ripped through the Baacha Khan Chowk area of Shahrah-e-Iqbal, a senior police official said.
The Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed the death toll, adding that details regarding the bomb attack would be divulged after further investigation.
Witnesses said children and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were among those injured.
This is the third blast in the same area which houses a shopping plaza and a market and is generally a busy area.
The police, FC, bomb disposal squad (BDS) and rescue teams reached the scene, cordoning off the area and shifting the injured to hospitals.
20 to 25kg explosives were reportedly used in the bomb.
Express News correspondent Irfan Rana reported a two to three-foot deep crater where the blast occurred.
Thirteen cars, including FC vehicles, were damaged in the blast.
COMMENTS (47)
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as u sow so shall u reap...............terrorism is just a drop of an ocean of problems pakistan have...........................
so sad, Quetta has again become the target after the few days of peace in the region while the Question is that who are Lashkar-e-Jangwi and why do they do so.
@Najeebullah:
Unfortunately the Pakistani media, not unlike this news site especially since the new year, seem to self censor any naming of any extremist militant groups' ideological or sectarian leanings, for the sensitivities of the majority, while seeing no problem in letting all the crazy and even sometimes bigoted conspiracies' to flourish and deflect any introspection or accountability.
"Banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhanvi called news offices to claim responsibility for the attack."
It is sickening that some continue to talk hate and divert attention and blame to everybody other than those who actually claimed responsibility. Not too many politicians from Punjab would come out and demand the crushing of Lashkar-e-Jhanvi and likes. The huge Pak army must eliminate them all before they kill all the civilians.
@US Centcom please leave Pakistan alone, please !!!!
If Pakistanis want to prevent such future tragedies, then they need to stop blaming India, Israel and US and start blaming the real enemy, Pakistani ISI and their radical Islamic culture.
This was an Indian act??? O come on you idiots. more than 40,000 innocent people are killed by terrorists/former allies/strategic assets and we are still blaming foreigners for our every sin.
The media is discussing the terrorist activities like these are some natural incidents, no one has ever discussed who are those terrorists, where are they hiding and why are they killing innocent people.
how many more people will have to die be4 the establishment in pakistan wakes up and realizes that these strategic assets that they are breeding for causing mayhem in india, are going to wipe them out first before they take on india...
Preparations of a Army coup - ground being laid. All such incidents are interlinked.
Ohh My God, May the deceased Rest in Peace. Very Sad ='(
Why Pakistan, ohh why did you start experimenting with Islam and encouraged terrorist outfits to enter mainstream population, Why did you declare moderate muslims as apostates, why did you encourage the Klashinkov and Jihadi Culture???? Let the state be separate from religion, only then can this menace of mullahism come to an end
My head bows down in shame because those who are in power corridor didn't visit Quetta where 83 people are killed in blasts just on 10th. Zardari met different leaders on Dr Qadri long march. He hosted dinner for those leaders. How could President host dinner and others ate the same when so many lost their lives on the same day in Quetta, Swat & Karachi? Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait / iqbalhadizaidi.formerdiplomat@hotmail.com
All these escalations might just give the Army enough justification for a martial law
I doubt may be Indian Raw(Intelligence agency) did that blasts in Pak as Indian were angry and blaming Pak for LOC killing of two Indian Solider
@Troll Terminator and @O2 Between the miseries destroying your country and our problem, guess what any sensible person would take? Guess how the world sees India and how it sees Pakistan (hint: not similarly). It is said that some Indians and Pakistanis celebrate the death of people in the other country, but seriously, do you guys even have an idea that Pakistan is up in flames, that it is sliding towards anarchy every passing day. India has its share of problems, including like you say, the treatment of women, minorities etc, but it is not an institutional collapse of the kind we are seeing in your country. You can either bury your head in the sand and live in denial or do something about it other than celebrating the killing of Indian soldiers. Your choice.
job by ISI to tarnish the image of United Baloch Army
I am appalled at some of the comments from Indians and Pakistanis. While it is understandable the lack of trust and consensus as far as the nationalistic ideology is concerned on both side, nothing can be over humanity. What is prompting us in counting deaths and sufferings on the other side and expressing our glee on the same? Is that something we want to teach to our children? Have we stooped down so low?
Every time people die in bomb blasts, US CENTCOM jumps in to cash the miseries of poor victims and propagate their so called war on terror, cooperation with Pakistani government to eradicate terrorism and blah blah blah. I suggest ET doesn't allow anyone to do dirty politics on the souls of innocent civilians being killed in these terrorist attacks. Btw, some pathetic trolls here are celebrating the deaths of innocent human beings which is extremely sick be them Indians or Pakistanis.
oly group condemn these attacks
very sAD news
Very sad news, hope 2013 is a more peaceful year for Pakistan, most Indians wish this for ourselves as well as for Pakistan.
@Nadir: there could be other elements. Elements involved with the 'attack on Indian army...'
may peace prevails soon
@Manish: Shut up, you are not going to live forever so worry about your death bed instead of insulting the victims! buzz off to your poor India
@indian: go back to your rape capital "New Delhi", you guys can't even protect women in your capital where more than 600 rape cases were reported & you come here like some joker & forget the reality at your home, typical deranged Indian lol
Manish must be joking. How can any sane person 'will' this to any one else - even if its his bittermost enemy.
First and foremost, our condolences go out to the friends and families of those killed in this act of terror. We hope that their loved ones will find the strength to deal with this tragedy. We also wish a quick and speedy recovery to those who are injured. We hope the perpetrators will be caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law as soon as possible. We fully support the Pakistani government in its struggle with the extremist organizations. We hope to work together to negate the terrorist elements that are focused on destabilizing the region.
Ali Khan DET, United States Central Command www.Centcom.mil/Ur
@Troll Terminator: far less than what happens to pak soliers everyday :)
@omer: plz retaliate....waiting for it....
And these are just the news that make it to the media, many of the single killings carried out just to target any mostly educated individual of a particular community goes un-noticed. They are being regularly carried out in different cities. We all need to wake up and raise our voices for our security, as this the envelope of barbarians is expanding every day.
@O2: WOW AND MORE THAN 30000 IN AFGHAN WAR .
@Ram: 2 Indian soldiers were undone on LoC & 13 in Jahrkhand - spectacular
@Ram: what happened with 13 of your security personnel, courtesy Maoists in Jahrkhand ? :)
Sad to see innocent people being killed by fanatic terrorists. Does Pakistan society/army realize who it their real enemy ? I don't think so, they are still killing two India soldiers across the eastern border blindly ignoring the problems with in. Really sorry to see the sad state of affairs in Pakistan.
@Manish: wow at 2 Indian soldiers that we sent back.
I have no proof, but this may be an Indain response to the border killings. If it is, then we will very shortly see Pakistan retaliate in Kashmir.
We need Martial Law..... :(
@Nadir: why don't you shut up!
My victims soul rest in peace & bless the injured with quick recovery, ameen.
Great .....wat happened to 7 Pakistan army personnel kidnappings?
And second,smugglers of wapons and drugs may be invoved in bombing to divert law enforcing agencies to polace of incidence to make safe passage for their weapons and drugs.
The police, FC, bomb disposal squad (BDS) and rescue teams reached the scene, cordoning off the area and shifting the injured to hospitals. Beating the line is not a solution,beat the terrorists at their hideouts.
When are negotiations starting?
=(
wow