No loss of lives was reported after a bomb explosion on a railway in the Mastung district of Baluchistan derailed six bogies of Jaffar Express, said an official.
With an increase in terrorist attacks in recent years, Baluchistan has seen a series of incidents in which the militants exploit the train tracks, pointing to the transport infrastructure of the province.
Muhammad Kashif, Public Relations officer of the Quetta Division of the Pakistan Railways, said Dawn.com: “A bomb attached to the railroad road exploded aloud, derailing six train bogies. Fortunately, there was no loss of lives.”
The incident occurred near the Spezand station in Dasht Tehsil in Mastung, when the train was heading to the Peshawar city station.
“The security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site as soon as they were alerted to the incident, and began a search operation after cordoning off the area,” Kashif said.
A Socorro train from the Pakistan railroads will bring back the train passengers affected at night, and all tickets will be reimbursed, according to Kashif.
“Four bogies of the Jaffar Express had been placed on the track, while efforts were being made to restore the other two,” said the official.
In a separate statement, Kashif said that Jaffar Express Trains between Quetta and Peshawar, both up and trips down, were canceled today and tomorrow, as well as August 13 and 14.
The Mail Bolan will start from Karachi on August 16 (Saturday) “In its appropriate turn” and will come to Quetta the next day, he added.
Today’s incident occurs only three days after Jaffar Express, bound for Quetta, escaped by little of a disaster in the Sibi of Baluchistan, where a pump planted near the track exploded just after the passenger train passed.
In another incident close to July 24, a powerful explosion crossed the Quetta-Sibi rail section, damaging a Bogie of the Bolan mail.
A derailment of July 28 of the Jaffar Express Train in Sukkur of Sindh was initially attributed to an explosion, even by means administered by the Government, but the railroad ministry then said that a technical failure was the cause.
In June, a powerful explosion of a remotely installed controlled explosive device in railroad roads caused four Bogies of the Express Jaffer to derail in Jacobabad. No one was injured in the incident.
In April, the 3up train that was heading from Karachi to Quetta was arrested at the Jacobabad train station due to security reasons.
The trains between Quetta and the rest of the country were restored on March 27, after they were suspended due to the unprecedented kidnapping of the Jaffar Express to Peshawar earlier that month.
The train, which was traveling from Quetta to Peshawar and transported 440 passengers, was kidnapped near the Baluchistan Sibi area on March 11, which resulted in the death of 21 passengers and four security personnel. “The 33 terrorists” were neutralized during the two -day authorization operation, the military said.
