Islamabad: At least seven people were killed and 70 others injured in a powerful explosion at a mosque in Peshawar, the capital city of Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday morning.
The blast which occurred around 0800 hrs was heard in the vicinity of 500 metres. There was a large number of students inside the seminary, and routine morning classes were being commenced when the explosion occurred, local media reported.
Bodies of the victims lay strewn in the rubble. Police reached the spot and launched the rescue operation with the help of locals.
The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained.
The injured have been shifted to a local hospital where the condition of several wounded was said to be critical.
Television footage from the scene of the blast showed significant damage to the interior of the mosque’s main prayer hall, with pockmarks dotting the ceiling and debris strewn across the floor.
Speaking to reporters, Peshawar city’s police chief Muhammad Ali Khan confirmed seven deaths and at least 72 wounded in the incident.
“This happened at 8:30am, children were reading the Quran here. That is when the explosion occurred,” he said.
Provincial health minister Taimur Khan Jhagra said the wounded were being treated at the Lady Reading Hospital, the city’s main government hospital.
