HYDERABAD: Nine people were injured when an explosion hit a vendor’s stall underneath a flyover here on Sunday night.

The injured, identified as Munir, Saleem, Fayyaz Gul, Zubair Gul, Amanullah, Aqeel, Ejaz, Shoukat and Mahtab, were taken to a hospital. Munir was in serious condition and shifted to the hospital’s intensive care unit, according to the medical superintendent.

According to eyewitnesses, a powerful cracker went off underneath the Sakhi Abdul Wahab Shah Jillani flyover, where a soft drink seller was serving his customers.

Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) personnel rushed to the area, but found no particles or ball bearings. “There was no crater,” a BDS official said, adding that only a pushcart was damaged.

Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch, who visited the site, told journalists that it was not yet confirmed whether it was a planted device or someone had thrown it. In reply to a question, he didn’t rule out the possibility of involvement of “some nationalist groups” in the incident.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2016