ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: A high-intensity time-bomb exploded in a “bomb disposal ditch” at the Islamabad International airport soon after it was seized near the domestic departure lounge at 12:25pm.

The explosion caused no loss of life and property, bomb disposal experts and Airport Security Force officials said.

ASF assistant director Sarfraz Ahmed told Dawn that a suspicious person was sitting beside a bag near the domestic departure lounge entrance. Soon after a patrolling official moved away, the man slipped away, leaving the bag behind.

The official informed the ASF authorities about the abandoned bag. The bag was shifted to the bomb disposal ditch where it was covered under a bomb blanket. “Minutes later it exploded,” Mr Ahmed said.

According to another ASF official, the explosion shattered the bomb blanket into pieces. However, it did not cause any damage to the walls of the ditch.

Experts said it was a locally made time-device, weighing 1.5 pounds. If detonated near the lounge, it could have caused massive destruction and loss of lives within a radius of 20 feet.

The explosion occurred when two PIA flights — one each from Quetta and Lahore — had just landed and the passengers were coming out of the airport.

Later, the military bomb experts arrived at the airport with sniffer dogs and conducted a search.

AFP adds: Rawalpindi police chief Kaleem Imam said the blast “appears to be an act of terrorism”, adding that police were searching for a suspect seen leaving the bag at the parking lot. He said about one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives was involved.