Nepal explosion: Three dead after double blast in Kathmandu

The blasts took place in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu.

Police has confirmed an investigation is underway but the cause of the explosion remains unclear.

Police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said: “We have three fatalities in two incidents of explosions but the nature of blasts is under investigation.”

One person was killed in an explosion inside a house in the Ghattekulo residential area in the heart of the city.

The second blast claimed the lives of two other people and occurred near a hairdresser’s in the Sukedhara area on the outskirts of the city.

A further five injured people have been rushed to a local hospital.

One witness said: “I heard a big noise and rushed to the spot to find the walls of a house had developed cracks due to the impact of the blast.”

Another citizen, who saw the blast in the Sukedhara region said it had shattered the door and window panes of the shop.

The area has since been sealed off by the army.

No one has claimed responsibility for either of the explosions.

However Mr Gyawali, the Nepali police official, said he suspects the attack could be the work of a splinter group of former Maoist rebels.

The group are opposed to the government for arresting its supporters.

Nepal emerged from a decade-long Maoist civil war in 2006 and the main group of the former rebels has joined the party that runs the government.

The breakaway group of former rebels carried out a similar blast in Kathmandu in February in which one person was killed and two others were injured.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow.

source: express.co.uk