One killed in blast near arms depot at Sahala

Pakistani army soldiers cordon off an area of an army depot on the outskirts of Islamabad on July 11, 2011, after an accidental blast. PHOTO: AFP

An explosion was reported at an arms depot, near the Sahala Area of Islamabad on Monday. Official sources said three security personnel were injured.
“This was an accidental blast in a unit store of the Pakistan Army. One soldier has been killed and three are injured,” a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

Express 24/7 correspondent Sumera Khan reports that the area has been strictly cordoned off by the military, and that media and police personnel are not being allowed to enter the area.
Official sources said that the explosion occurred during a routine firing excersise at the depot, when a shot was accidentally fired which led to a short circuit. The short circuit resulted in the explosion.
However, a police official told AFP that the blast occurred due to another “accident”.
“It was an accidental blast. An explosive device exploded when a few people were handling it inside an army depot,” said Faisal Memon, a senior police official in the area.”The army has blocked entry to the site,” he said.
Another police official said the roof of a barracks collapsed.”It was a small room being used by army personnel as a residential barracks. Explosives were also stored there, which exploded and injured three,” said Basharat Ali, a local police official.”The injured are being shifted to a military hospital,” he said.
An eyewitness told Express 24/7 that he was present on the road when the blast occurred. He said he heard three explosions “loud and clear”. However, the military said only one explosion occurred.
Express 24/7 correspondent Sabur Ali Syed reported that three extremely powerful explosions took place. Syed reported that the area is engulfed in smoke.
“It’s an army area. They have an arms depot there, and there
was blast in that,” Mohammad Iqbal, a police official in Sahala,
a neighbourhood near Islamabad told AFP. “Two to three people were
wounded,” he added.
Police and rescue teams have been dispatched to the area. Fire brigades from Islamabad and Rawalpindi are present at the site.
The building where the arms depot is located has collapsed due to the intensity of the blast.
The ammunition depot is on the outskirts of Islamabad, near Rawalpindi.