At least nine people, including two traffic police officials, were martyred and 23 others injured in a powerful blast in Sarai Naurang tehsil of Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Tuesday. According to police, a loader rickshaw laden with explosives exploded in a busy market during rush hour. Rescue 1122 teams rushed to the scene immediately after the explosion and shifted the dead and injured to Naurang Hospital for medical treatment. 

Sources said several of the injured were in critical condition, raising fears that the death toll could rise further. Police and Bomb Disposal Squad personnel reached the site soon after the blast and cordoned off the area to collect evidence and launch an investigation. A large number of local residents also gathered at the hospital to assist in rescue efforts and donate blood for the injured, police added. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)