Facebook has apologised after its Safety Check system wrongly asked people if they were caught in a bomb attack in Pakistan. The social networking giant Facebook apologised on Monday after a bug turned its "safety check" feature into a breaking news alert for all users after a powerful blast ripped through a public park in Lahore, killing 69 people and injuring over 250.

Facebook turns on the "Safety Check" feature to help let friends and family know they are safe in case being trapped after a natural disaster or terror attack.

But in the case of Lahore terror attack, people nowhere nearby, or even near Pakistan, received notifications, Quartz reported.

In fact, people as far as New York city, South Africa, Nepal and Canada tweeted about receiving the "Safety Check" notification activated after the Lahore bombing.

"We activated Safety Check in Lahore, Pakistan, after a bombing took place there. Unfortunately, many people not affected by the crisis received a notification asking if they were okay. We worked to resolve the issue and we apologies to anyone who mistakenly received the notification," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"This kind of bug is counter to our intent," it added. "We worked quickly to resolve the issue and we apologies to anyone who mistakenly received the notification."

The problem is the latest in a series that the Safety Check feature has suffered. Last year, Facebook began to use the system more widely after being criticized about when it was employed. Criticism was levelled at it because it was used for the large-scale attacks in Paris but not subsequently for similar-style bombings in Beirut.

Safety Check was originally developed for use after natural disasters but was expanded to include terror attacks after Paris.