Death toll in Swabi police station blasts rises to two

SWABI: The death toll from the blasts at the Swabi City Police Station rose to two on Friday as another victim succumbed to his injuries, according to rescue and police officials.

Mohammad Siraj, son of Aurangzeb, and an employee of the Food Department, died from injuries at a hospital. He had been present at the police station when the blasts took place. Iqtidar, a teenager, was martyred on Thursday night.

Rescue officials reported that 23 people were injured in the incident, including Tilawat Sher, Umar Khan, Adnan Khan, Riaz Khan, Mohammad Junaid, Asad Khan, Mohammad Zia, Usman Khan, Mutabar Khan, Jalal Khan, Usama Khan, Nazwali Khan, Imad Khan, Zaman Khan, Asad, Sajjad Khan, Farzand Ali, Altaf Khan, Murad Ali, Abdur Rehman, Mehar Tab, and Mubasher Khan.

The injured were transported to local hospitals by rescue teams and volunteers.

A police official said explosives weighing 600 kilograms stored in a room on the ground floor since 2014 exploded at the police station. He said it remained unclear how the fire started, but the blasts followed shortly after the fire broke out that destroyed the building.

District Police Officer Haroon Rashid said an electrical short-circuiting likely triggered the fire, which then ignited the explosives, causing massive blasts that damaged nearby offices in the district headquarters.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi visited the Bacha Khan Hospital to meet the injured.

Speaking to the media, he praised the sacrifices of the KP police in the fight against terrorism and assured the public that the government would provide assistance to the families of the martyrs.

Governor Kundi said the inspector general of police had ordered an investigation to determine the cause of the blasts.

Also, the Awami National Party (ANP) has called for a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the cause of the explosions.

ANP former provincial general secretary Salim Khan demanded a probe into the incident as he argued it could be an act of terrorism.