At least 65 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a suicide bomb ripped through the parking space of a crowded park in Lahore
At least 65 people have died in an explosion in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, according to local police. Scores more have been injured.
The blast struck Gulshan-e-Iqbal park on the western side of Lahore. The large public park was crowded with people enjoying a spring evening and Easter holiday weekend.
Dozens of ambulances were seen racing to the park, situated near the centre of the city with many women and children among the dead and wounded.
“The toll has risen to 65. The rescue operation is continuing,” an official of the Punjab government said.
The army had been called in, he said, and soldiers were at the scene helping with rescue operations and security.
One eyewitness said there was chaos, with a stampede breaking out and children separated from their parents in the rush to escape.
The casualties included many women and children, Reuters reports, citing a superintendent of police for the area.
He added: “It was overcrowded because of Easter, there were a lot of Christians there. It was so crowded I told my family not to go.”
