At least seven passengers were killed and another 10 were injured, some of them critically, when Quetta-bound passenger train Jaffar Express was targeted by miscreants in Naseerabad district, official sources said on Monday.
“Jaffar Express was on way to Quetta from Rawalpindi when it struck an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by miscreants in Notal area, near Dera Murad Jamali,” Balochistan Home Secretary Asad Gailani said.
He said five bogies, besides a part of the railway track, were damaged.
The train was carrying hundreds of passengers from Punjab to Balochistan, majority of who were returning after spending Eidul Azha holidays in their native towns.
The blast suspended the railway operation on the track.
“Shafifan Bibi has been identified as dead while the identity of the other could not be ascertained so far,” a local police official said.
The injured include Shizan, Mohammad Arif, Noor Elahi, Ali Shiba, Nadeem, Sanwwan, Arz Mohammad, Farooq, Salamat and Bibi Allah Rakhi.
The local administration reached the site soon after the blast and began shifting the injured to SibiHospital while, railway authorities initiated rescue operation so that the stranded passengers could get to their destinations.
Balochistan govt announce Rs 1 mln compensation for heirs of victims of Jaffar Express blast
The Balochistan government announced Rs 1 million in compensation for the families of the victims.
