12 killed in massive blast in Pakistan's Karachi city
Karachi(PTI): At least 12 people were killed and an equal number injured here on Saturday when a massive blast, apparently triggered by a gas explosion in a sewage system, ripped through the premises of a private bank situated on it, according to media reports.
Most of the casualties are reportedly customers and staff present inside the bank which was built on top of a covered sewage channel in Karachi's Shershah area and collapsed following the explosion, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Officials said that the cause of the explosion is being investigated as it cannot be ascertained whether it was a gas pipeline or a build-up of methane that took place inside the sewage system which led to the explosion.
"It might be a sewer gas blast as the bank was constructed on a nullah. It is too early to say whether it was a gas line or a sewer explosion. We are investigating," a senior police official was quoted as saying in the report.
According to a report in Geo TV, eyewitnesses claim that there are many people who are buried underneath the debris of the building.
Two excavators have been called to the site to remove the debris and rescue any persons trapped there.
A bomb disposal unit (BDU) has also arrived at the location which has been cordoned off, the Geo TV report said.
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17 newborn girl children named Sindoor in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar
Kushinagar (UP), May 12 (PTI): Inspired by Operation Sindoor, India's military action against Pakistan to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack last month, 17 newborn girls here have been named Sindoor by their families.
"As many as 17 newborn girls born on May 10 and 11 in Kushinagar Medical College have been named Sindoor by their family members," Principal Dr RK Shahi told PTI on Monday.
Twenty-six people, a majority of them tourists, were killed and several injured when terrorists opened fire at Baisaran meadow in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on April 22.
In retaliation, Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to destroy nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir. All subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under the moniker Operation Sindoor.
Hailing Indian armed forces for "giving a befitting reply to Pakistan", Kushinagar resident Archana Shahi said she named her newly born baby girl after the military operation.
"Following the Pahalgam attack, the lives of a number of married women were ruined when they lost their husbands. Operation Sindoor was carried out by the Indian Army in response to that. We are proud of this. Sindoor is not a word but an emotion now. So, we have decided to name our daughter Sindoor," Archana said.
Her husband Ajit Shahi echoed the sentiments. "Archana and I had thought of the name even before our daughter was born. This word is an inspiration for us," he said.
Madan Gupta from Padrauna said ever since India avenged the killing of the 26 innocent people, his daughter-in-law Kajal Gupta wanted to name her newborn Sindoor.
"That way, we will remember this operation and celebrate this day," Gupta told PTI.
Vyasmuni from Bhathahi Babu village has taken a similar decision, saying it would instil courage in his daughter.
"When my daughter grows up, she will understand the true meaning of this word and present herself as a dutiful woman for Mother India," he said.
Priyanka Devi from Padrauna has also joined others and decided to name her daughter after India's military action, the Kushinagar Medical College principal said.
On the trend of parents naming their daughters Sindoor, Pradeep Khatri, who teaches psychology at Lucknow's National PG College, told PTI, "The parents intend to instil patriotism in their children. When these girls grow up, the parents may tell them why they were named so. It will develop patriotic feelings inside these girl children."
