LAHORE, Oct 10: A man was killed and 17 people were injured when an explosive device placed in a bag on the ground floor of a food outlet in the Old Anarkali Food Street went off on Thursday.

A powerful bomb blast in the same street in July had left five people dead and 50 injured.

Thefoodstreetis one ofthe most popular public spots, frequented by people especially in the morning for breakfast and on weekends.

A number of key official buildings, including the IG`s office, are in the neighbourhood.

The loud explosion shook the locality, damaged the three-storey building and shattered windowpanes and door glass of adjacent restaurants.

Witnesses and rescuers and police personnel said the bag of explosives left under a pillar exploded at around 11.35am.

Civil Lines SP (Investigation) Imtiaz Sarwar told Dawn that it was a time device that had created a crater. An elderly man died on the spot.

A son of the owner of Sindhi Biryani suffered critical injuries, while 16 other people, including a woman beggar and employees of the restaurant, were under treatment for light to moderate injuries in the Mayo and Sir Ganga Ram hospitals.

The official said police had received a tip-off but the closed circuit television cameras were not operating because of a power outage at the time.