Panic gripped The Mall when late on Thursday night some locals informed police about a blast heard near Chanba House on back side of a local five star hotel.
A heavy contingent of police along with Rescue and Edhi officials reached the scene. A search of the area revealed nothing.
Locals claim the blast was heard within a radius of one km with people coming out of their houses after hearing the sound.
Fear gripped mall road when heavy contingent of Police and rescue teams reached near a local five star hotel and near Chanba house searching for a blast location. Police and rescue teams searched the whole area for an hour and questioned local residents. Locals confirmed they had heard a blast but no one was able to confirm its’ exact location.
Locals rumored that the blast came from within the local hotel with others rumoring it was inside Chanba House located in GOR-I.
Newly appointed District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahmed Cheema reached the scene after hearing the rumors. Cheema claimed they received information of a blast but recovered nothing from the alleged scene. Talking to media Cheema confirmed explosive could be smelt in the area where the search operation had been launched – but no blast site had been identified yet.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Civil Lines Umer Saeed talking to Pakistan Today said they have received information from the local hotels’ officials but were unable to identify a blast site. He claimed the area’s security shall be intesified.
