Death-toll fear at Pakistan blast hotel
Massive explosion reported at luxury hotel in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan
Also In The News
|
The final of this year's series of the Apprentice is expected to draw an audience of several million when it is screened on BBC1 this evening. |  |
Wednesday, 10, Jun 2009 08:30
At least 18 people are reported to have been killed after a car bomb struck a five-star hotel in north-western Pakistan.
Sixty people were wounded in the attack upon the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar on Tuesday night.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but officials are blaming it upon Taliban loyalists after the Pakistani military stepped up its offensive against militants in the North West Frontier Province that Peshawar is the capital of.
According to police chiefs at the Pearl Continental, gunmen stormed the hotel shortly before the explosion, reported to have been caused by a vehicle being driven into the compound and blown up.
Police spokesman Abdul Ghafoor Afridi told the AFP news agency the death-toll could rise further as rescuers search through the wreckage of the hotel.
"The number of casualties could rise as we fear that some people are still trapped under the debris," he said.
"One portion of the hotel was totally destroyed. Three people including a manager of the hotel are missing and we fear they are under the debris."