ISLAMABAD — A bomb blast in a park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday has killed 44 people and wounded 91.
Salman Rafiq, a health adviser to the chief minister of Punjab province, said many of the injured are in critical condition.
Local police chief Haider Ashraf said the explosion took place near the children’s rides in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park. He said the explosion appeared to have been a suicide bombing, but investigations were ongoing.
Ashraf said the area was crowded with Christians celebrating the Easter holidays, and many families were leaving the park when the blast occurred.
At least 25 people were killed and dozens injured when an explosion ripped through the parking lot of a crowded park where many minority Christians had gone to celebrate Easter Sunday in the Pakistani city Lahore, officials said.
He said the park was manned by police guards and private security guards.
Footage broadcast on local television stations showed chaotic scenes in the park, with people running while carrying children and cradling the wounded in their laps.
A witness, not identified by name on Pakistan’s Geo TV station, said he was heading toward a ride with his wife and two children when he heard a huge bang and all four of them were thrown to the floor.
By Zarar Khan
