On Pakistan Independence Day, blasts, accidents kill 39

Eleven people were killed and 21 injured in a remote-controlled blast at a hotel in southwestern Balochistan province.

At least 25 people died when a bus carrying 80 people fell into a ravine in the mountainous Veesaab area near Hub, 20 km from the port city of Karachi, while three Pakistani paramilitary troopers were killed and 25 were injured in a rocket attack on their camp in the tribal area of North Waziristan.

In Balochistan, explosive material was fixed to the wall of the two-storeyed hotel in Dera Allah Yar city, some 250 km from provincial capital Quetta, Xinhua reported. The blast brought the building down to ground, reports said.

Sources told Geo News that the militants hid an explosives-filled bag inside the hotel and blasted it with a remote control. Witnesses said there were around 30 people on the ground floor of the building when the blast took place. However, there was no one was on the first floor.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the hotel blast. Media reports said the toll in the bus accident in the mountainous Veesaab area near karachi may increase, with over 35 injured people being admitted to hospital.

The passengers were on their way back from a pilgrimage. Initial investigation showed that poor road conditions due to recent rains in the area and overloading in the bus were to blame for the accident, traffic police said.

In the rocket attack on a paramilitary camp in North Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan, three troopers were killed and 25 were injured. Four rockets hit the camp in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, when troops were preparing for an Independence Day function, Online news agency reported.