Two people were killed and 17 others injured after an explosion occurred near a police vehicle in the Barech Market area on Quetta’s Double Road, officials said.
Confirming the deaths, Balochistan’s health department spokesperson Dr Waseem Baig said, “The injured have been moved to the trauma centre at Civil Hospital.”
Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Abdul Hadi Kakar told Dawn.com that the condition of four wounded people is critical.
Balochistan Government Spokesperson Shahid Rind said in a statement that the explosion occurred near a police vehicle, adding that the nature of the blast was being determined.
Video footage circulating on social media, verified by Dawn.com, showed a crowd of people gathering at the scene of the blast, with the flaming wreckage of a motorcycle next to a charred police pickup truck. A damaged Suzuki Alto can also be seen in the frame.
A man was also seen pulling the burning wreckage of the motorcycle away from the vehicle in the video, while sirens could be heard in the background.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the blast in a statement from his office, expressing sorrow over the death of the two people who lost their lives.
“We equally share in the grief of the families of the deceased,” Naqvi was quoted as saying.
