Sarfraz Bugti, Balochistan home minister added: "So far 15 people have been injured in the blast, seven of whom are in critical condition." An AFP reporter at the site saw three burned out vehicles that had been blown up in the explosion, while human remains lay strewn across the ground, walls, and electrical poles, along with items of clothing including the caps and shoes of policemen. Some officials had begun to gather evidence from the scene while others were collecting body parts to put in bags.
Eye-witness Shabir Ahmed, a 32-year-old police constable, told AFP he had been deployed to protect a polio vaccination team that was due to leave for various neighbourhoods of Quetta at 10 am. "Suddenly there was a loud bang and I fell to the ground, I could not see anything, there was dust everywhere," he said. "Then I heard people screaming and sirens of ambulances," he continued, adding he had received shrapnel wounds to his stomach, hands, legs and feet.
Anwar ul Haq Kakar, a spokesman for the provincial government, vowed the polio immunisation drive would continue. "We won't allow the nefarious designs of the terrorists to succeed, we will eliminate polio," he said.
Reuters adds: Militant group Jundullah, which has links with the Pakistani Taliban and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomb ripped through a police van that had just arrived at the centre to provide an escort for vaccination workers engaged in a drive to immunise all children under five years old in Balochistan.
"It was a suicide blast, we have gathered evidence from the scene," Ahsan Mehboob, the provincial police chief told Reuters. "The police team had arrived to escort teams for the polio campaign." Ahmed Marwat, who identified himself as a commander and spokesman for Jundullah, said the group was responsible. "We claim the bomb blast on polio office. In the coming days we will make more attacks on polio vaccination offices and polio workers," he said by telephone.