Balochistan: Sibi train blast death toll reaches 14

A blast in a train at Balochistan's Sibi railway station on Tuesday killed 14 persons and wounded 30 others while setting it on fire and destroying one bogie , DawnNews reported. The explosion occurred in the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar express when it reached Sibi from Quetta whereas the deceased included two women and four children. Rescue sources said that more than 30 people were wounded in the blast.

Sher Khan Bazai, a senior administration official, confirmed the incident and said that “24 patients are in critical condition, they will be shifted to Quetta as soon as they are stable enough to travel." He added that the injured included six women and four children. Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that 12 people had died in the blast and added that the involvement of a woman was suspected in the incident. He further said that strict action would be taken against perpetrators of the incident. Rafique said the same service had been attacked a few days earlier but there were no casualties. “A few days ago terrorists had fired upon a train when it came out of a tunnel (in Balochistan), but they ran away when security forces responded to firing. “The train was standing at Sibi railway station where FC and other law enforcement agencies are always alert. We will have to review the security and find out the cracks from where the terrorists slipped and planted the explosives,” he added. Moreover, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that 20 injured persons had been shifted to Civil Hospital Sibi. Emergency and rescue teams reached the site and began shifting the casualties to hospitals for treatment. An emergency was imposed at Civil Hospital Sibi and according to initial reports there was no surgeon present at the facility which was also facing a shortage of medicines and other resources. Other victims were also shifted to Quetta. The federal and provincial governments ordered a probe into the blast. The incident comes a day after security forces said they had killed 30 militants in operations conducted in Kalat and Khuzdar districts of the province. There was no claim of responsibility over the incident till the filing of this report. .