KHAR: Three people were killed and 24 others injured when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the mountainous Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Friday.

Officials of the agency’s political administration said that a truck was going from a nearby town to a hilly area of the Charmang Valley when the bomb placed on the roadside at Matak locality was detonated by remote control. The area is along the Pak-Afghan border and some 40km northwest of Khar.

The deceased were identified as Khairur Rehman, Rahim Zada and Muslim Khan. They received multiple wounds and died on the spot.

The injured, some of them said to be in a critical condition, were taken to the agency headquarters hospital in Khar by local people and security personnel. Emergency was declared in the hospital where officials of the political administration and security forces were present to ensure better and speedy treatment of the injured.

A large number of people thronged the hospital to donate blood for the injured.

Local people said that the blast was heard far and wide in the tehsil.

An official of the local administration told Dawn that six injured — Ali Hazrat, Muhammad Saleem, Khan Zareen, Rahmanullah, Shah Zareen and Gul Zameen — were later sent to Peshawar by an army helicopter because of their critical condition. According to doctors of the agency headquarters hospital, some injured were discharged after providing them first aid.

An official of the political administration told reporters that an investigation was under way to trace people involved in the incident, adding that a search operation had been launched in the area.

He said all the victims were labourers and belonged to different areas of the Charmang Valley.

Meanwhile, the deceased were laid to rest in their hometown in Charmang on Tuesday evening.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2017