DHAKA: At least 69 people were killed and scores injured in an explosion at a public park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

The park was crowded with families, some celebrating Easter. Many victims are said to be women and children.

Quoting local police, BBC reported that it appeared to be a suicide bomb attack.

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’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.

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.

BDST: 0917 HRS, MAR 28, 2016
SR