8 killed, 19 injured as twin blasts hit passenger train

At least eight people were killed while 19 others injured when two explosions hit a passenger train in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province on Friday, local media and officials said.

Federal Minister for Railways, Khwaja Rafique, said that the train, Jafar Express, was targeted by a remote-controlled device in Mach area of Balochistan, some 50 kilometres northeast of Quetta.

Railway authorities said that the train was on its way to the northern Rawalpindi city from provincial capital of Quetta when it came under attack.

Local Urdu TV channel, Dunya, said that the first blast hit two compartments of the train and as soon as the rescue teams gathered at the site, the second explosion happened.

The report added that two security personnel and a government official were among those that were killed by the blast.

All the injured have been taken to Quetta via army helicopters, where an emergency has been declared at all state-run hospitals.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Rafique said there was a group in Balochistan involved in targeting railway tracks and trains, but he did not mention the name of the group.

The minister said that a suspect was arrested at the blast site, adding that Police had cordoned off the area for further investigations.