Disaster averted: Bombs with 150kgs explosives defused in Ittehad Town
The bombs were defused in the outskirts of the city, Ittehad Town. STOCK IMAGE
The bomb disposal squad (BDS) and law enforcement agencies saved the city from a major disaster on Tuesday by defusing three bombs, containing approximately 150 kilogrammes of explosive material.
The bombs were defused in the outskirts of the city, Ittehad Town — a highly congested area of Baldia Town. The police were alerted after citizens called the Madadgar Helpline 15, complaining about a suspicious rickshaw parked next to an electricity PMT. A large contingent of police personnel rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. Subsequently, the BDS experts were summoned to the site. The explosive devices were concealed in three CNG cylinders hidden in the backseat of the rickshaw. It took the experts at least one hour to defuse the bombs.
A senior BDS official told The Express Tribune that each cylinder contained around 50 kilogrammes of explosives and all of them were connected via a remote control device. "It would have been one of the biggest disasters in the country's history if these bombs had detonated," explained the official.
The target of the bomb has yet to be ascertained.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2015.