At least 69 people have been killed and scores injured in an explosion at a public park in the
eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.The park was crowded with families, some
celebrating Easter. Many victims are said to be women and children.Police told the BBC it appeared
to be a suicide bomb. A Pakistan Taliban faction said it carried out the attack.Pakistan's president
has condemned the blast and the regional government has announced three days of mourning.
All the major hospitals in the area were put on an emergency footing after the blast early on
Sunday evening.The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in
an area where cars are usually left - and a short distance from the children's swings.One eyewitness
said there was chaos, with a stampede starting and children separated from their parents in the
rush to escape.Another man told Pakistan's Geo TV station he was heading towards a fairground ride
with his wife and two children when he heard a huge bang and all four of them were thrown to the
floor.Hasan Imran, 30, a local resident who had gone to the park for a walk told Reuters: "When the
blast occurred, the flames were so high they reached above the trees and I saw bodies flying in the
air."The agency also reported that the army was called in to control crowds outside the park.
According to Lahore's deputy commissioner, Mohammad Usman, the number of injured was 193.
Facebook has activated its feature for people in Lahore to mark themselves as safe, as news of
the blast spread.Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan's largest and wealthiest province and
the political powerbase of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.Pakistan Taliban splinter group
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told local and Western media it was behind the attack."We claim responsibility for
the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter," spokesperson Ehansullah Ehsan told
Pakistan's Express Tribune.Pakistan has suffered regular incidents of Taliban-related violence,
sectarian strife and criminal gang activity.Meanwhile in the capital, Islamabad, police fired tear
gas at thousands of protesters who marched in support of Islamist gunman Mumtaz Qadri, whom they
see as a religious hero.Qadri was hanged last month for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer
five years ago.Mr Taseer had defended a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges.If you are happy
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others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and
conditions.X-Men star Hugh Jackman has been thanked for helping his children and other swimmers
after they got caught in a rip current at Sydney's Bondi Beach.Australia's Nine News showed footage
of Saturday's incident, with Jackman helping pull his daughter from the water with the help of
another swimmer.Lifeguards then helped bring Jackman's teenage son to safety after he got into
difficulties due to the strong current.North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club thanked Jackman for his
assistance.The beach was closed for the rest of the day due to the conditions.In a post on
Instagram, North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club wrote: "The beach had to be closed due to dangerous
conditions,multiple rescues happening all at once and limited resources."@thehughjackman was also
spotted assisting with rescues! Thanks Hugh." Lifeguard Trent Falson told Australia's Nine News
the actor thanked him for doing an "amazing job" by bringing his son Oscar ashore."He said you guys
did an amazing job, I think he thanked me about three times on the way up the sand," he said.Peter
Adam was swimming when the incident happened and assisted the Hollywood actor in helping his
daughter Ava, later admitting he was "a little bit" starstruck.'Cool, calm and collected'
He told Nine News: "His daughter was struggling to get on to the sandbar so I reached down, grabbed
her arm and put my arm up to Hugh to make a chain to pull us up on the sand bar."That's what you do
with any family out there."Adam added: "He wasn't rescuing me, I was assisting him to get his
daughter up to the sandbar. He then grabbed my hand to get us up. He then went to get his son."
Local Dan Conn said Oscar had been carried out again by the strong current but that Jackman had
remained "pretty cool, calm and collected" throughout.