Rawalpindi: Doctors at a Rawalpindi hospital struggled for over half-an-hour to revive former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto after she was shot by a suicide attacker, before declaring her dead.

A report sent by the Rawalpindi General Hospital to the Punjab provincial government said all efforts by its doctors to revive Bhutto failed and she was declared dead 41 minutes after she was brought to the emergency department at 5:35 pm local time.

The hospital's report said Bhutto had open wounds on her left temporal bone from which 'brain matter was exuding'. It said she was not breathing when she was brought to the hospital and her pulse and blood pressure 'were not recordable'.

It said Bhutto was taken to the operation theatre, where 'immediate resuscitation was started' by a team of doctors headed by the principal of the Rawalpindi Medical College.

Bhutto was hit in the head by a shot fired by the suicide attacker, who subsequently blew himself up near her bulletproof vehicle, killing up to 30 people, including policemen and the Pakistan People's Party leader's personal bodyguards.

Bhutto was waving to supporters from the vehicle's sun-roof when she was struck by the bullets. The attack occurred as Bhutto was leaving the Liaquat Bagh ground after addressing a gathering of thousands of her supporters.

The doctors also performed a surgery on Bhutto to carry out an open heart massage but their efforts were in vain. 'Left antro-lateral thoracotomy for open cardiac massage was performed', Dawn quoted the hospital's report as saying.

'In spite of all the possible measures, Bhutto could not be revived and (was) declared dead at 6.16 pm'.

The report said an autopsy of Bhutto's body was not carried out at the hospital 'because the district administration and police had not requested the hospital authorities (for this)'.

Bhutto was shot not far from the spot where Pakistan's first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead by an assassin on October 16, 1951.

Source : PTI