ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: The interior ministry on Sunday ruled out the possibility of sabotage in the Diamir blast in which 45 people were killed an over 100 injured.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official of the ministry said it was an accident and not an act of terrorism.

The official said the ministry would assess the situation on Monday after examining preliminary reports of different law enforcement agencies.

He said 13 people were reportedly missing and feared dead.

The ministry, he said, had issued a standard operating procedure for police and other departments in Gilgit to tackle the situation.

Another official of the interior ministry said most of the government and private companies rarely followed international safety standards for handling the explosive materials.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has expressed his sorrow

and grief over the loss of 45 lives and said President Gen Pervez Musharraf had been informed about the incident in Lahore.

The prime minister, he said, had issued directives to the authorities concerned to provide maximum possible medical care to the affected people.

The minister said the government departments always took appropriate measures for the safe storage of explosive material.

However, he claimed, private contractors did not adopt adequate measures for their proper storage.

In a separate statement issued here on Sunday, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao expressed deep shock and grief over the loss of precious lives.

The minister who is currently on an official visit to Saudi Arabia, advised his ministry’s secretary to coordinate with the Northern Areas’s administration and local authorities in relief efforts and rescue operation.