The blast in front of the Serena Hotel took place on Wednesday night, local time, and rescue and security services are investigating the incident, Muhammad Akram, a rescue official at the scene, told CNN.
Hotel Serena is considered the safest hotel in Quetta and is usually the place where international development teams and diplomats choose to stay during the visit.
“This incident took place after the Iftar (rapid break-in). The car was parked in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel,” Balochistan Interior Minister Ziaullah Lango told Reuters. “One of our policemen is among the injured.”
Images and images from the scene show burning vehicles in the hotel parking lot and thick smoke coming out of the explosion.
The Pakistani Taliban, a militant group known as Tehreek and the Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the bombing. In an email received by CNN, TTP spokesman Muhammad Khurassani said it was a “suicide attack carried out by a TTP car bomber” and that “further details will be provided soon.” .
China’s ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was staying at the hotel but was not there when the bomb exploded, Pakistan’s interior minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Lango, the province’s interior minister, said the ambassador was “very spirited” and would continue his activities on Thursday. “He also said he would leave only after he finished his tour,” Lango said.
It was unclear whether the envoy or members of his delegation were the target of the attack, but Chinese citizens and their interests in the region were attacked before the militants.
In 2015, under the Trade and Infrastructure Scheme of the Beijing Center and Roads, China transformed Gwadar from Balochistan into the deepest seaport in the world. The coastal city is now a center of Chinese investment in Pakistan.
Journalist Saleem Mehsud contributed to reports in Islamabad.