Pakistan shrine explosion kills 52 and injures at least 70

Emergency services struggle to reach the rural area, says local media

At least 43 people died and scores of others were injured when a bomb exploded at a remote Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan's Balochistan province (Getty)

At least 52 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in explosion at a Sufi Muslim shrine in southwest Pakistan, officials say.

Isis has reportedly claimed reponsibility for the bomb attack at the Shah Noorani shrine in the Kuzdar district of Balochistan

The explosion occurred while hundreds of people were inside, with worshippers said to have been performing dhamal, a trance-like dance, according to local television.

The injured are reportedly being transported to Karachi on Pakistan's coast for medical treatment.

Local media report there is no hospital nearby and emergency services are struggling to reach the area because of its remote location.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and called for rescue efforts.

Extremist groups in the province of Balochistan have frequently targeted public institutions this year.

In October more than 59 people were killed and at least 100 wounded in an attack on a police training academy in the Balochistan city of Quetta, which Isis claimed responsibility for.

Another suicide attack killed 70 people at a hospital in Quetta in August.