KARACHI: Panic gripped the Shershah area on Sunday after another explosion occurred in a nullah, a few distance away where an explosion had occurred last month claiming the lives of at least 15 people.
According to details, the explosion took place at a sewerage nullah located near Paracha Chowk in Shershah, which caused panic and fear in the locality. Rescue teams as well as law enforcement were quickly dispatched to the area.
Ruling out the possibility of any terrorism act, experts said the explosion occurred due to accumulation of gases in the sewage nullah. No loss of life was reported in the incident.
The blast comes on a day when a large volume of people visit the area, as many vendors on carts line up to sell second-hand goods, akin to those found in Sunday bazaars.
Witnesses reported people getting injured. Rescue officials on site, meanwhile, said they had not come across any injured people, but had been informed that one or two people were wounded and rushed to the hospital.
In December last year, at least 15 people were killed and 16 others were injured in a blast near Paracha Chowk in Karachi’s Shershah area.
SHO Zafar Ali Shah said the explosion took place in a nullah (drain) located underneath a private bank, which had been served a notice to vacate the premises so the nullah could be cleaned up. The bank’s building, as well as a nearby petrol pump, was damaged in the explosion, Shah said.
Meanwhile, Dr Sabir Memon, head of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), confirmed that 15 people had died in the incident and 16 others injured in the blast were brought to the hospital.
The doctor attributed the majority of the casualties to injuries caused by fallen debris and said none of the bodies smelled of any explosives or chemicals.
