QUETTA:
Seventeen passengers were killed and about 50 wounded on Tuesday when
militants bombed a Rawalpindi-bound train parked at the Sibi Railway
Station 120 km southeast of Quetta, hospital sources and officials said.
The blast came a day after the security forces said they had killed 30 separatist militants in one of the biggest clashes in months in the Balochistan province. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility, saying the bombing was in retaliation to the security forces’ raids.
The bomb went off in the Jaffar Express in a carriage reserved for men. The explosion occurred when the passengers were disembarking. Eight members of a family were among the dead.
Two carriages quickly became engulfed in an inferno as the passengers, some of whom were on fire, screamed and struggled to escape, senior police official Mohammad Nazar, who was at the scene, said.
“We have recovered 12 bodies from the train. They have been burnt to charcoal,” he said, adding one of the injured had died after being taken to a military hospital in the town.Sher Khan Bazai, a senior administration official, confirmed the incident. “24 patients are in a critical condition; they will beshifted to Quetta as soon as they are stable enough to travel,” he said, adding that the injured included six women and four children.
According to police sources, explosive material was placed inside the train that exploded at the railway station after 10 minutes of the arrival of Jaffar Express.A bogie carrying at least 80 passengers was completely damaged when it caught fire after the explosion. Bomb Disposal Squad reached the scene while security was put on high alert.
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said at least 12 people had died in the blast and added that involvement of a woman was suspected in the incident.He said there was no arrangement at the railway station to search female passengers.
Talking to Pakistan Television, he said foreign elements were involved in the blast to create terror in the province. He said investigation was underway to identify if the blast was remote-controlled or of other type.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said 20 injured persons had been shifted to Civil Hospital Sibi. Rescue teams reached the site and shifted the injured to hospitals for treatment. The victims included women and children.
Emergency was declared at the Sibi Civil Hospital and at the burns ward of Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta where some seriously burnt people were shifted.According to reports, no surgeon was present at the facility which was also facing shortage of medicines and other resources.
Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast resulting into loss of precious human lives.In a condolence message, the prime minister sympathised with the bereaved families and prayed for the departed. He directed the authorities concerned to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
In his condolence message, President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the blast and sympathized with the bereaved families.The president, who is on a two-day visit to Quetta, directed the authorities concerned to ensure provision of best medical assistance to the injured.
The blast came a day after the security forces said they had killed 30 separatist militants in one of the biggest clashes in months in the Balochistan province. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility, saying the bombing was in retaliation to the security forces’ raids.
The bomb went off in the Jaffar Express in a carriage reserved for men. The explosion occurred when the passengers were disembarking. Eight members of a family were among the dead.
Two carriages quickly became engulfed in an inferno as the passengers, some of whom were on fire, screamed and struggled to escape, senior police official Mohammad Nazar, who was at the scene, said.
“We have recovered 12 bodies from the train. They have been burnt to charcoal,” he said, adding one of the injured had died after being taken to a military hospital in the town.Sher Khan Bazai, a senior administration official, confirmed the incident. “24 patients are in a critical condition; they will beshifted to Quetta as soon as they are stable enough to travel,” he said, adding that the injured included six women and four children.
According to police sources, explosive material was placed inside the train that exploded at the railway station after 10 minutes of the arrival of Jaffar Express.A bogie carrying at least 80 passengers was completely damaged when it caught fire after the explosion. Bomb Disposal Squad reached the scene while security was put on high alert.
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said at least 12 people had died in the blast and added that involvement of a woman was suspected in the incident.He said there was no arrangement at the railway station to search female passengers.
Talking to Pakistan Television, he said foreign elements were involved in the blast to create terror in the province. He said investigation was underway to identify if the blast was remote-controlled or of other type.
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said 20 injured persons had been shifted to Civil Hospital Sibi. Rescue teams reached the site and shifted the injured to hospitals for treatment. The victims included women and children.
Emergency was declared at the Sibi Civil Hospital and at the burns ward of Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta where some seriously burnt people were shifted.According to reports, no surgeon was present at the facility which was also facing shortage of medicines and other resources.
Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast resulting into loss of precious human lives.In a condolence message, the prime minister sympathised with the bereaved families and prayed for the departed. He directed the authorities concerned to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
In his condolence message, President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the blast and sympathized with the bereaved families.The president, who is on a two-day visit to Quetta, directed the authorities concerned to ensure provision of best medical assistance to the injured.
