Five of a family killed in Peshawar hotel blast

PESHAWAR: Five members of a family were killed and two others sustained injuries in an explosion at a hotel on the main Grand Trunk Road early Friday.

The fire that broke out in the building after the mysterious explosion also engulfed other floors of the hotel. The blast damaged parts of the hotel as well as four cars parked outside the building.

Ambulances and rescuers were rushed to the spot after the explosion to rescue the victims. Heavy contingents of police also arrived at the spot and cordoned off the area. Capital City Police Officer Qazi Jamilur Rahman said no component of any improvised explosive device or other explosives weren’t found at the spot. “Besides, there was no crater found as it happens in cases of IED explosions,” he told The News.

“The early morning blast took place at room number 408 of the Afandi Hotel on the GT Road near Bilal Colony. Five members of a family lost their lives in the explosion that caused fire,” Superintendent of Police (SP) City Kokab Farooq told reporters.

Those who died in the blast included 22-year old Mehran Gul, Najmina Bibi, 50, Nargis Bibi, 24, Rukhemala, who was four-year-old, and five-year-old Asaish. Two people Kamran and Aamir sustained serious burn injuries and were taken to a hospital. There were reports that one of injured also succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The family had come from Hangu to see a doctor, an official said.

The experts of the bomb disposal unit and police officials termed gas leakage cause of the blast, adding they didn’t find any evidence of use of explosives in the blast.

Salehdin Orakzai adds from Hangu: The five persons of a family who died in the blast due to gas leakage in a hotel in Peshawar were laid to rest here late Friday. The family had gone to Peshawar for medical checkup. The victim included Mehran Gul, his mother Najmina Bibi, Nargis Bibi, Rukhmala and Asaish.

The victims were staying at the Afandi Hotel on the Grand Trunk Road in Peshawar. Two other members of the same family identified as Kamran and Amir sustained injuries and were hospitalised. The bodies were taken to their native area in Hangu district where they were laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard in Zandarkhel.