Footwear outside a blast site in Quetta. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

QUETTA: An unregistered religious seminary was gutted as a result of an explosion that occured allegedly after explosive materials prematurely went off in the Eastern Bypass, an outskirt of Quetta valley, on Sunday morning.



Four rooms of the religious seminary and a nearby house were completely destroyed in the blast.



According to eyewitness accounts, three people injured in the blast were taken out by their companions before police reached the site. A search operation was launched to find the injured, but police could not locate them at any Quetta hospital.



Deputy Inspector General Police (DIG) Operations Mohammed Jaffar said some religious literature was recovered from the wreckage along with explosives material. He said those in the seminary were preparing explosives that went off prematurely.



Quetta is vulnerable to sectarian and militant attacks and recently two bombings killed more than a dozen people and injured over 50 others.



After the US drone strike that killed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Hakimullah Mahsud, security has been beefed up in sensitive areas of Quetta that include the military cantonment, Chief Minister House, IG FC and Police Balochistan’s residences and provincial secretariat.