Attack
The hotel blast caused a severe natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The explosion was heard 15 kilometres away. The blaze that followed quickly engulfed the entire structure of the Marriott hotel. About two-thirds of the building caught fire as a result of the explosion after a natural gas pipe was blown open, and the reception area was completely destroyed.
The owner of the Marriott Hotel, Hashoo Group, owned by Sadruddin Hashwani, who is an Ismaili Muslim, said the truck carrying the bomb had been stopped at the front barrier. "Some shots were fired. One of our guards fired back, and in the meantime he detonated all the explosives. All the guards on the gate died", said Hashwani.
Most of the dead were Pakistanis citizens, but foreigners also died from other countries. Two American military personnel and a Danish intelligence agent were killed, and a U.S. State Department employee was missing and presumed dead. The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Ivo Žďárek, also died in the ensuing fire along with his Vietnamese companion. Although Žďárek had survived the initial blast, he returned to the hotel to help in the rescue effort but was trapped in the burning building. In addition, six Germans, four Britons and a Filipina receptionist from the hotel were among the injured.
Read more about this topic: Islamabad Marriott Hotel Bombing
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