40 killed, 135 injured in twin blasts in Pakistan's Karachi

 　　ISLAMABAD, March 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 people were killed and over 135 others injured when twin blasts hit a residential¹ area in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Sunday night, local health official said.

　　Aftab Khatri, Health Secretary of Sindh said that the death toll² may further rise 50 because the injured people including a large number of women and kids are in a critical condition.

　　Senior intendant of Karachi Police Fayyaz Khan said that first bomb was triggered off by a remote controlled device and explosive materials were laden³ in a mini-truck parked near the entrance gate of a residential "Iqra City" area of the metropolis⁴.

　　He said that the Bomb Disposal Squad⁵ is busy in investigating about the nature of second blast and according to initial reports it seems that the second explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber⁶ who blew himself up in the residential building.

　　Fayyaz said that an estimated 150 kg of explosives were used in the blast, adding that the bomb contained ball-bearing and lethal⁷ chemical material which caused huge fire after the explosion.

　　The blast leveled two multi-story buildings comprising of 200 flats to ground and several people are believed to be stranded⁸ under the rubbles.

　　Following the blast, several nearby vehicles, over 150 shops and a building caught fire.

　　The injured people were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Patel hospital and Jinnah Hospital.

　　The blast happened at about 7:00 p.m. (local time) at Abul Hassan Isphahani road of Karachi, the capital city of the country' s southern Sindh province.

　　No group claimed responsibility for the blast yet.

　　Both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf condemned⁹ the blast and directed hospital administration to provide best possible medical treatment to the injured people.

　　Governor Sindh also condemned the blast and announced a one-day- mourning in the province on Monday, saying that the national flag would fly at half-mast on all state-owned buildings across the province on the day of mourning.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

4 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

5 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。