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Terror shook the world for the second time in less than a week on Sunday, with a suicide bombing that killed at least 65 at a park in Lahore, Pakistan prompting a global outpouring of grief and solidarity.
Eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the parking lot once the dust had settled after the blast.
Javed Ali, a 35-year-old resident who lives opposite park, said the force of the blast had shattered his home’s windows. “Everything was shaking, there were cries and dust everywhere. After 10 minutes I went outside. There was human flesh on the walls of our house. People were crying, I could hear ambulances.”
He added: “It was overcrowded because of Easter, there were a lot of Christians there. It was so crowded I told my family not to go.”
Another resident, identified as Hasan Imran, who had gone to te Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park for a walk, was quoted by news agencies saying, “'When the blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the air.”
Another witness, who wished to be identified only by his first name, Afzal, said he had taken 20 children to a hospital and carried three dead bodies to a police car.
“I can’t explain to you the tragic situation,” he said.
Police chief Haider Ashraf said, “We are in a warlike situation and there is always a general threat but no specific threat alert was received for this place.”
A medical superintendent at Jinnah Hospital, who gave his name only as Dr Ashraf, said more than 40 dead bodies had arrived at the hospital. “The number of injured stands at more than 200 people, most of them are in critical condition,” he said. “I fear the death toll will rise.”
He described a nightmarish scene at the hospital, with staff treating casualties on floors and in corridors.
Meanwhile, global heads of state, leaders and prominent personalities joined thousands of others in extending their thoughts and prayers to the tragedy-stricken South Asian nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to condemn the attack on Twitter, calling his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif as well, with several other leaders including French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron following suit.
US Presidential candidates John Kasich, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders all issued statements denouncing the attack.
Thousands of netizens also added their voices to the chorus of sadness and anger, many of them using the hashtag #PrayforLahore.
Photograph: @JFXM/Twitter
Photograph: @josephwillits/Twitter
Photograph: @nashwahakhtar/Twitter