March 12, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429

LAHORE, March 11: Hundreds of people were injured by glass shards and other material falling from buildings surrounding the blast sites at Temple Road and Model Town F-Block. These buildings suffered massive structural damage estimated to run into millions of rupees here on Tuesday.

At Temple Road, a sea of glass littered the streets immediately following the blast, while its effects extended out to an approximate radius of 1km into Lawrence Road, Mall Road, Mozang Road, Fane Road and Hall Road, as shops closed trading for the day. The Regal Cinema, situated just a few metres from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) building, felt the full impact of the blast and large chunks of its wall were blown off, while the Caritas centre (a Catholic organisation), the 100 year-old Sacred Heart Cathedral, the Sacred Heart School and St Anthony’s College were badly damaged. Shops and offices in the nearby Sadiq Plaza were also affected as doors and window panes were sent flying, ceilings collapsed, and ceiling fans fell loose. Approximately two dozen vehicles were left charred and battered, later to be removed by rescue services.

At the Sacred Heart School, situated a few metres from the blast site, more than 100 children who were attending classes at the time of the blast at 9:20am were injured by flying glass, according to school principal Alexander Louis. The building also suffered significant structural damage. A similar situation occurred at St Anthony’s College where around 60 children were taken to hospital to be treated for injuries resulting from the impact of glass and other building fittings, as well as other injuries such as ruptured ear drums.

According to witnesses, panic spread at St Anthony’s following the blast as children were ordered to make their way to the main courtyard. As the children cried and trembled, panicked parents began to arrive. The parents were initially prevented by the school management from entering the premises, as the management was fearful of further suicide bomber attacks. Parents began scaling the school walls to enter and collect their children. Eventually a traffic warden took charge of the situation by frisking all those entering.

Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice in Pakistan, told Dawn that two deaths and hundreds of injuries had occurred at Archbishop House of the Sacred Heart Cathedral – the largest Cathedral in Pakistan and North India which celebrated its centenary last November. Doors were blown out of their frames and some sections of wall came loose. Jacob described the decades old stained-glass windows as “irreplaceable”, and estimated the cost of damages would come to millions of rupees. The building’s bookshop, printing press, and news office were also destroyed. He further stated that the management of the Cathedral would now depend on donations to begin repairs. At the Caritas building, a chowkidar and the three-year-old daughter of a servant were killed.

Azhar Saeed, the owner of a tailor shop on Lawrence Road, said one of his employees had been rushed to hospital following the blast, and that the cost of replacing his shop’s window front would come to Rs80,000, while Javed, the owner of fast-food shop estimated similar damages to his property. Mian Muhammed Arshad, owner of the 68-year-old Regal Cinema, said he planned to rebuild his cinema soon, despite the entire main hall and screen being destroyed and sections of wall missing.

Meanwhile at 83-F Model Town, two buildings on either side of the blast site lay in virtual ruins while the blasts shattered glass in houses throughout F-Block – where PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, city district Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood reside. PPP office Bilawal House is also in the neighbourhood of the blast site. Several people were struck by glass shards as they passed through the streets on their daily commute, while Mohsin Ali, a servant, suffered severe cuts while he was washing up the household crockery, which at the time of the blast exploded in his face. The blast was described as being extremely powerful and heard from several km away.

Around the city, schools, many of which are in the middle of exam period, were closed early following news of the blasts. Some schools immediately shut following the blasts while others continued to operate into the early afternoon.

At the morgue, families reported difficulties in identifying their relatives owing to their extremely charred and mutilated condition.

Shops at Panorama Centre, Hall Road, Anarkali bazaar, Abid market, and Mozang bazaar were also closed for the day.

As the day wore on, areas surrounding the blast sites became the scene of clean-up operations as shopkeepers took it upon themselves to clear glass on their streets and called in building contractors to assess damages.