admin An explosion on a railway track in Pakistan’s Quetta killed at least 24 people, news outlet Al Arabiya reported on Sunday, citing officials.
More than 50 were injured in the blast, which derailed a cargo train and was followed by gunfire, Al Jazeera reported.
The force of the explosion caused two of the train cars to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online.
The attack happened in an area where security forces are usually stationed, badly damaging several nearby buildings and smashing more than a dozen vehicles parked along the road, according to witnesses and images circulating on social media.
Doctors at local hospitals said they received more than 30 wounded people, several of them in critical condition.
Police officers and volunteers carry an injured victim of bomb explosion upon arrival at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday. AP
Quetta is the capital of insurgency-hit Balochistan province. The oil- and mineral-rich region has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency. The insurgents have frequently targeted security forces, government installations and civilians in the province and elsewhere in the country.
“We strongly condemn the targeting of innocent civilians and are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,” said Shahid Rind, Balochistan provincial government spokesman.
A crane lifts a carriage of a train at the site after an explosion that targeted a train in Quetta on Sunday. AFP
He said following the explosion, a medical emergency was declared at hospitals in Quetta, and an investigation has been launched.
Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence in Baluchistan has persisted.
Agencies
