Quetta (HRNW)- A powerful explosion while a shuttle train was passing near Chaman Phatak has killed 14 people, including FC personnel, while dozens of others are injured. Several coaches of the train derailed due to the explosion.
According to details, the explosion was so powerful that the sound was heard throughout the city, while the windows of buildings in the vicinity were broken.
According to railway officials, a shuttle train coming from Quetta Cantt was hit by an explosion near Chaman Phatak, as a result of which three coaches including the engine derailed.
Eyewitnesses say that a vehicle was already parked near the gate, but as soon as the train reached the gate, an explosion occurred, which also severely damaged the train’s engine.
According to Assistant Chief Minister Balochistan Shahid Rind, the death toll in the explosion has reached 14, including 3 FC personnel. The injured have been shifted to the hospital.
Shahid Rind said that the terrorists targeted unarmed civilians, the attack was a cowardly act of elements hostile to peace, targeting public places is proof of the terrorists’ desperation, the sacrifice of the martyrs will not go in vain.
An emergency was imposed at the Civil Hospital Trauma Center, and the injured included women and children who were shifted to the hospital.
According to railway officials, the explosion took place when the Jaffar Express train was passing by. The passengers on the train were going home to celebrate Eid holidays.
Security forces immediately cordoned off the area and started a rescue operation. Rescue trucks and relief trains were sent to the scene for relief operations. After the explosion, a fire broke out at the scene, which was extinguished by the fire brigade personnel.
Special Assistant for Home Affairs Balochistan Babar Yousafzai said that information about the incident is being collected, as soon as more details are available, the media will be informed, all relevant institutions have been alerted, however, the public is appealed not to gather near the scene of the incident.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Chairperson Benazir Income Support Program Senator Rubina Khalid, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Governor KP Faisal Karim Kundi and other ministers and political leaders condemned the blast.
Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi has strongly condemned the blast in Quetta and said that the incident is cowardly terrorism, such attacks cannot weaken the national resolve.
Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said that anti-Pakistan elements in India and Afghanistan are sponsoring terrorism, the nefarious intentions of terrorist networks operating from India and Afghanistan will never be allowed to succeed. Terrorists are enemies of humanity and the country and they will be brought to a tragic end.
The Railways Minister said that the operational activities of Pakistan Railways will continue uninterrupted. He directed the administration to submit an immediate report on the incident.
Condemning the blast, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that the terrorists of Fitnatul Hindustan are showing their brutality by targeting innocent citizens. The terrorists who shed the blood of innocent citizens do not deserve any concession.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed deep sorrow and regret over the train blast near Chaman Phatak in Quetta.
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