Skip to main content

Karachi tragedy toll rises to 43 (Update)


 Tuesday, December 29, 2009::KARACHI: The death toll in the suicide blast yesterday at the mourning procession taken out in connection with Yaum-e-Ashur rose to 43, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to Secretary Health Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, there are at least 40 bodies at Civil Hospital, two in Jinnah Hospital and a body is present at Agha Khan Hospital.

Meantime, day of mourning is being observed today across the province in connection with the MA Jinnah Road tragedy that occurred yesterday in the central mourning procession taken out to commemorate the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A.)

All the commercial hubs of the city are closed today. However, the stock market is open. Transport is absolutely absent from the roads. A mini-bus has been torched in Gulistan-e-Jauhar today’s morning.

The schools are closed owing to the winter vacations. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, after visiting the injured at Jinnah Hospital last night, announced public holiday for today. Therefore, the education institutions, offices and the roads are presenting a deserted look.

The fire on Bolton Market buildings lighted by the enraged people after the suicide blast in central mourning procession, could not be extinguished thus far. While, more vehicles were called from Hyderabad to assist the firefighters here.

Saddar Alliance President Faheem Noori said the loss worth at least Rs20 to 30 billion has hitherto been estimated; while, 1500 to 3000 shops have been gutted.

The funeral prayers for Rangers personnel Abdur Razzaq, who laid down his life while intercepting the suicide bomber, have been offered at Polo Ground in Karachi. Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and other high-ups attended the funeral.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US troops in Iraq head to Afghanistan

BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.