Four dead, 49 hurt in Pakistan car bomb

At least one car bomb exploded today outside the US consulate and a luxury hotel in Karachi, killing four people and wounding 49, two days ahead of a visit to Pakistan by the US president, police said.

The blast ripped through vehicles in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel, about 20 metres from the consulate gate, shattering windows at both locations and other nearby buildings. Ten cars were destroyed, casting flames and clouds of thick black smoke over the scene.

Police initially said two car bombs had gone off, but provincial police chief Jahangir Mirza said a single car bomb by a suicide attacker may have triggered a second explosion when a burning car's fuel tank caught fire.

“There is a possibility that this could be a suicide attack but we are still investigating,” Mirza said.

Shabbir Qaimkhani, the provincial health minister, said four people were killed, including a woman who died of her injuries in hospital, and 49 others were wounded.