A massive blast outside Karachi Airport in Pakistan kills 2 and injures at least 8

A vehicle is seen on fire at the site of an explosion that caused injures and destroyed vehicles outside Karachi airport, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 07 October 2024
Follow

A massive blast outside Karachi Airport in Pakistan kills 2 and injures at least 8

  • Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded outside the airport, which is Pakistan’s biggest

KARACHI: A massive blast outside Karachi Airport in Pakistan on Sunday killed two people and injured at least eight, officials said.
Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded outside the airport, which is Pakistan’s biggest.
But the provincial home minister, Zia Ul Hassan, told local TV station Geo that it was an attack targeting foreigners.
A Home Ministry official told The Associated Press that it was an attack on Chinese nationals, one of whom was injured. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

 

Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative that connects south and central Asia with the Chinese capital.
Videos showed flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. There was a heavy military deployment at the site, which was cordoned off.
Deputy Inspector General East Azfar Mahesar told media that it seemed like it was an oil tanker explosion.
“We are determining the nature and reasons for the blast. It takes time.” Police officers were among the injured, he added.
The home minister and inspector general also visited the blast site, but they did not talk to the press.
Rahat Hussain, who works in the civil aviation department, said the blast was so big that it shook the airport’s buildings.


India’s foreign minister confirms an Iranian naval ship is docked at the port in Kochi

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

India’s foreign minister confirms an Iranian naval ship is docked at the port in Kochi

  • The ships had previously taken part in naval exercises hosted by India
  • The Indian foreign minister said Saturday an Iranian naval vessel has docked in India
DUBAI: The Indian foreign minister said Saturday an Iranian naval vessel has docked in India.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the IRIS Lavan is docked in the southern city of Kochi after India granted permission when the vessel reported “having problems” on March 1. News agency Press Trust of India, citing unnamed “government sources,” had earlier reported that the ship has been in Kochi since March 4.
“I think it was the humane thing to do,” Jaishankar said.
A US submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Another Iranian vessel, the IRIS Bushehr, requested assistance from Sri Lanka, where more than 200 sailors were being brought ashore.
The ships had previously taken part in naval exercises hosted by India, but Jaishankar said they got “caught on the wrong side of events” once the war began.