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LAHORE Up to 61 people were killed in Moon Market twin suicide blasts, police said on Wednesday.
According to Iqbal Town division SP Investigation Shoaib Khurram, some families had directly taken the bodies of their beloved ones to their homes without meeting medico-legal formalities.
He said earlier the police had established the death toll at 45 on the basis of bodies shifted to hospitals through ambulances and police vehicles.
Seventy-three people injured in the blasts are still getting treatment in city hospitals.
US TEAM
A four-member US team visited the Moon Market and inspected the site of blasts.
Police sources said the team also got briefing from the police officers about the incidents and post-incident investigations.
IDENTIFICATION
Two bodies belonging to the victims of the Moon Market blasts were handed over to their families on Wednesday who established their identification with the help of clothes and a ring.
Another four burnt bodies are still lying unclaimed at the Mayo Hospital's city morgue.
The bodies handed over to families on Wednesday are of Farrukh Shaheen, 35, of Qazi Town in Sabzazar, and Ashraf Javed Butt, 35, of Chohan Road in Islampura. Butt was a Customs official who would hold a stall in the market after the office.
Iqbal Town investigation in charge Umer Farooq told Dawn the bodies were identified with the help of clothes and a ring.
He said some families were complaining that their near and dear ones had gone missing after the blasts but they were not helping the police recognise the bodies lying at the morgue.
Iqbal Town division SP Investigation Shoaib Khurram said DNA tests would be held to establish the identity of the remaining bodies.
He said police had collected all necessary evidence from the blast scene and that the fire had erupted in the market due to short-circuiting and petrol leakage from motorcycles and generators.
He said the remains of the suicide bombers were being sent to the laboratory for DNA test and NADRA for identification.
Also, three teams made to probe the blasts had started working on different angles.
Crimes Investigation Department DIG Aftab Ahmed Cheema is heading a team which consists of three SSPs while the Iqbal Town circle DSP and the Iqbal Town CIA DSP are also heading two teams.
RESCUE 1122 CLAIM
Rescue 1122 has dismissed the allegations leveled by witnesses and the police that the service did not respond on time which caused more casualties due to the fire.
According to a press release, the Rescue 1122 emergency ambulance (LA-30) responded to the incident within one minute from the Moon Market rescue post and a fire vehicle arrived at the scene in six minutes from Central Rescue Station at Ferozepur Road.
A mob stopped the first vehicle at the apparent site of the blast near the MCB office and the rescuers started fire fighting and rescue activities there.
Subsequently, the fire engulfed the inner sides of the market due to short circuiting of high tension electric wires, LPG cylinder blasts, and ill-planned installations of outdoor air-conditioner units.
Within 15 minutes of the blasts, 22 emergency vehicles of Rescue 1122 with staff of over 150 people were at the blast sites.
Another contributing factor was Illegal parking/barriers which hindered the rescue activity.
The market lacked fire detection and fire fighting arrangements required as per building regulations, it said.
