Social network Facebook has extended an apology for an apparent glitch its Safety Check alert system after the suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, on Sunday, March 27. In the bombing, nearly 70 people were killed, and hundreds were injured.

The glitch in the Safety Check alert system caused confusion after the deadly terrorist attack because notifications about the incident were erroneously dispatched to people who were at a distance of thousands of miles from the scene of the attack.

Specifically, as a result of the glitch in the Safety Check system, the notifications - sent out to Facebook users to confirm their safety after the Lahore bombing - were received by people in parts of the US, Europe, and Asia.

The Safety Check alert system was launched by Facebook in 2014, with the objective of helping the Facebook community during natural disasters. Facebook had activated the Safety Check feature not only during natural disasters like earthquakes, but also after the recent terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.

With the useful Safety Check social media feature having experienced a glitch during notifications about the Lahore bombing, Facebook has apologized for the glitch, and said in a statement: "Unfortunately, many people not affected by the crisis received a notification asking if they were okay. This kind of bug is counter to our intent. We worked quickly to resolve the issue and we apologize to anyone who mistakenly received the notification."