Peshawar, Oct. 28 : At least 50 persons were killed and over 100 injured when a powerful bomb blast rocked Peshawar's Meena Bazar area around noon on Wednesday.

The blast was so powerful that it destroyed several nearby buildings. Several shops were also gutted in the fire, which broke out immediately after the ear-deafening explosion.

All injured people, mostly women, have been admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital, where an emergency has been declared.

Hospital sources said the casualty list is expected to rise as several of the wounded are in critical condition.

The blast, which officials said was triggered through a car-bomb, came hours after US Secretary of State touched down in Islamabad to hold talks with the country's civilian and military leadership.

"It was a huge bomb blast, heard in almost all the city. It was a car bomb," The Nation quoted Anwar Shah, a security official, as saying.

Television footage of showed burning wreckage of shops, a building collapsing into dust and rubble and blazing debris as police evacuated panicked residents from the area.

The area, where the blast occurred, is one of the most congested parts of Peshawar dotted with women clothing shops and general market stalls, which is making the relief and rescue work difficult.

Meanwhile, both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have condemned the terror attack and ordered a high level enquiry.

Gilani, while denouncing the attack has also directed the concerned officials to provide all possible medical relief to those wounded in the blast. (ANI)