Wednesday, April 12 2006 14:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Karachi: Pakistan police was today (Apr 12, 2006) probing the possible involvement of two suicide bombers in the blast at a prayer meeting to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed as the death toll in the explosion rose to 57.

Police said they suspected a double suicide bombing as two badly mutilated bodies have not been claimed by anyone. The two were believed to be sitting closely to the stage and set off explosives tied to them, destroying the podium. Hundreds of people were taking part in the prayers when the explosion took place yesterday.

"The death toll is now 57 and around 200 have been injured," Sindh province spokesman Salahuddin Haider said.

Haider said two more bodies had been found and suspected them to be that of the suicide bombers who are believed to be sitting in the second row during the sunset prayers.

"No one has yet claimed the responsibility of the deadly attack but we have reasons to believe that there were two suicide bombers," Haider said.

Sindh Government has announced a cash award of Rs five million to anyone giving information on those responsible for the blast.

The port city remained deserted today as the local government announced a three-day mourning and closed all educational institutions to avoid any further unrest in the city that has been put on a high alert. The Punjab government has also declared a major alert.

The business community was also observing a one-day mourning and transport was very thin on the streets of the city that has a long history of sectarian killings.