Pakistani security personnel cordon off the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta on May 1, 2012 . —AFP Photo

QUETTA: A powerful blast ripped through Quetta’s Sariab Road on Tuesday, killing at least five people while injuring 10 others, DawnNews reported.

Rescue officials confirmed that at least five people had been killed in the incident. The dead also included Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, according to reports.

The loud explosion, which was reported to be so powerful that it shook several buildings in the provincial capital, took place at around 2:15pm near the Sariab grid stationon the outskirts of the city. The area, located near Quetta's Irrigation Colony, is known to be a busy locality.

Security officials said the explosives were planted under a car parked on Sariab Road, while an FC convoy was suspected to be the intended target of the attack.

The explosion "took place as an FC (Frontier Corps) convoy passed by the car," local police official, Abdul Qayyum, told AFP.

Four FC vehicles damaged as a result of the blast, while one was completely destroyed. Four rickshaws also caught fire because of the explosion.

A heavy contingent of local police and FC personnel reached the scene of the blast and cordoned off the area. The injured were meanwhile shifted to a local hospital by rescue workers.

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