40 killed in Lahore market blasts لاہور میں دو زور دار دھماکوں میں 40 افراد ہلاک 125 زخمی ، 31 کی حالت تشویشناک ۔۔۔

The News - Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Terrorists target women, children; over 125 injured; 31 in critical condition; police arrest dozens in crackdownBy Arshad DogarLAHORE: Two powerful blasts ripped through a crowded market in the heart of the city on Monday night, killing at least 40 people, and injuring over a 100 others. Soon after the blasts at the densely populated Allama Iqbal Town’s Moon Market, a huge fire erupted in a plaza, consisting mostly of cloth shops. The market was crowded with women and children at the time of the incident. Police and bomb disposal squad officials were not certain till late night if it was a suicide blast or time-devices were used to explode planted bombs. However, circumstantial evidence showed, and some of the forensic experts said, time-devices were used to explode two bombs. One was planted in the parking area of the Muslim Commercial Bank, and the second one inside a plaza. Both bombs exploded with a gap of a few seconds, at around 8:30 pm, police and eyewitnesses said. The first explosion destroyed the facade of the MCB building and damaged scores of shops, vendors’ carts, cars and motorbikes, parked in front of the bank. SP Iqbal Town Ali Nasir Rizvi said the police suspected the blast outside the bank was a suicide attack as body parts of different people were recovered from the crime scene. This correspondent witnessed a lower part of a leg and different body parts of men and women in the parking area of the MCB. Small pieces of human flesh were seen outside the bank building and the cloth market plaza, along with clothes and pairs of shoes, left behind by the fleeing people after the blasts. Thick black smoke billowed out of the burning building, as flames consumed garments and valuables.Police cordoned off the area after more than an hour of the incident. Members of Rescue 1122 and Edhi Ambulances carrying stretchers also reached the spot to conduct the rescue operation. All utility services including electricity were disconnected, plunging the whole locality into total darkness. Rescue 1122 fire service and the city fire brigade also reached the spot and carried out the operation. The fire-extinguishing efforts continued for over three hours after which rescuers started searching for bodies in the burnt shops. The rescuers brought out mutilated bodies from the building and sent them to hospitals. The police said a two-year-old child and women were among the dead. According to the area people, the blast sound was heard in a radius of three kilometres. An eyewitness said they were busy shopping when they heard a big bang in the parking area of the market. As they rushed to save their lives, a second blast took place after a few seconds. The fire engulfed the entire plaza and there was smoke everywhere. An eyewitness, Khalid, said he saw dozens of people lying in the parking area. “There was a lot of blood, a lot of screaming,” a pedestrian Kashif said. The market presented a horrible picture where women, and men were crying and searching for their loved-ones. People rushed to the site to know the fate of their dear-ones who had come to market for shopping. Different rescue services and government departments gave different number of causalities. The Edhi Foundation said around 37 bodies and over 70 injured people were shifted to different hospitals till 10 pm. Rescue 1122 claimed around 33 were dead and over 95 injuries till filing of the report. The police later launched a search operation and several suspects were arrested from the crime scene. The Punjab government declared a state of emergency in all city hospitals. According to doctors in different hospitals, out of total 116 injured, 31 were in critical condition. Ten critically injured persons were being treated at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, 13 at Farooq Hospital, seven at Jinnah Hospital and one was at Services Hospital.
source - http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=25956