A blast was reported in Islamabad's G-11 sector on Tuesday, according to Dawn News. Initial reports indicate that several people sustained injuries in the incident. Authorities have cordoned off the area and launched an investigation to determine the cause and nature of the blast.
In the blast 9 people have been killed and 21 are injured, NDTV reported citing Pakistan state media.
The blast occurred near a court, multiple vehicles parked outside the court were also damaged in the explosion. Those injured were mostly people who had arrived at the court for hearings, a report by Hindustan Times said.
Citing AP, HT said that the local media reports indicated that a gas cylinder might have exploded inside the vehicle, however, police have declined to comment on this speculation.
Eyewitnesses described hearing a deafening blast followed by chaos in the area. The report further said that, Rustam Malik, a lawyer present at the scene, told AFP that he heard the explosion just as he was parking his car nearby.
"It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire," said Malik, as per the report.
This comes a day after, a high-intensity explosion occurred near the Red Fort metro station in Delhi on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people.
Twenty-four people were injured and eight died in the blast that took place at a time when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital a few kilometres away.
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