Explosion at Quetta railway station: 26 people killed, 60 injured

26 people were killed and more than 60 injured in a bomb blast at the railway station in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

According to AFP, security forces personnel are also among the dead.

According to the officials, the explosion took place on the platform of the railway station on Saturday morning when there were a large number of passengers.

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The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the blast, saying that the attack was carried out by its suicide squad, the Majeed Brigade.

Railway Police Quetta SHO Sanaullah told Urdu News that at least 24 people were killed and 53 injured in the blast. The bodies and the injured were taken to the hospital.

Police Surgeon Civil Hospital Quetta Dr. Aisha Faiz also confirmed that 24 dead bodies have been brought to the hospital.

SHO Railway Police said that Chaman passenger train was present on the platform at the time of the explosion while many passengers of Bolan Mail to Karachi and Jafar Express to Rawalpindi were also waiting on the platform.

According to the SHO, ‘the targeted people include civilian travelers as well as security forces personnel who wanted to go to their native areas on vacation.’

The explosion was so intense that the iron roof of the platform blew off. The railway station building has also been partially damaged.

‘My brother was also lying in the pile of dead bodies’

According to eyewitnesses, after the explosion, screams started everywhere, the injured were moaning in pain. Passengers’ luggage was scattered. The platform was stained with human blood and human organs were visible in places.’

Sona Masih, who lost his brother Ayaz Masih in the explosion, said that ‘My brother was a supervisor in the railways, he left home for duty at seven in the morning. I immediately reached the station when I heard a loud explosion around 8:30. There was a very bad situation, injured and dead bodies were seen everywhere. My brother was also lying in the pile of dead bodies. He died on the spot.’

According to Railway Control Quetta, three passenger trains depart from Quetta to Chaman, Karachi and Rawalpindi every day in the morning in which 1000 to 1500 passengers travel.

Quetta Police SSP Operations Muhammad Baloch said that due to the rush of passengers, more lives were lost.

He said, ‘Initially we thought that the explosives were placed in some equipment, but now we feel that it was a suicide attack. Police have started investigation by collecting CCTV footage and other evidence from the crime scene.

He added that around 100 people were present on the platform at the time of the explosion.

Balochistan Government Spokesman Shahid Rind has also said that ‘from the preliminary evidence, the explosion seems to be a suicide. They say that the target of the explosion was the passengers and they are the target.

The spokesman of the Balochistan government said that the railway police is responsible for the security of the railway station. According to him, there were general threats in the specific conditions of Quetta and the province, but the government did not have any threat alert regarding targeting a particular railway station.

‘Terrorists who target innocent people are not pitiful’

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has condemned the explosion at Quetta railway station.

He said that terrorists who target innocent people are not pitiful. Action against terrorists in the province is ongoing, terrorists involved in several incidents have been caught.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the explosion near the Quetta railway station and said that ‘terrorists who harmed the lives and property of innocent and innocent citizens will have to pay a heavy price.’

According to the official news agency APP, the Prime Minister said that the government and security forces are fully active to eliminate the monster of terrorism.