Suicide blast derails train in Quetta, kills 16

At least 16 people were killed and 30 others injured in a suspected suicide blast near Chaman Phatak in Quetta on Sunday, Aaj News reported, quoting police and rescue officials.

The explosion occurred near a railway track where a train was reportedly targeted, causing several compartments to derail, local authorities said.

Police officials said preliminary investigations suggested that the blast was a suicide attack. The explosion was so powerful that it was heard across nearby areas and damaged multiple vehicles parked close to the railway track.

Security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site shortly after the incident, while authorities cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

Officials said firing was also reported immediately after the blast, creating panic among residents and rescue workers. Security personnel later took control of the area and secured the surroundings.

Rescue sources confirmed that 16 people had been killed, while 30 others sustained injuries. Several of the injured were said to be in critical condition, raising fears that the death toll could rise further.

According to rescue authorities, bodies and injured passengers were shifted to nearby hospitals, including Civil Hospital Quetta, where an emergency was declared.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “strongly condemn[ed] the heinous bomb explosion” near Chaman Phatak, Quetta, which has resulted in loss of lives and left many others injured.

“I strongly condemn the heinous bomb explosion near Chaman Phatak, Quetta, which has resulted in the tragic loss of innocent lives and left many others injured,” the prime minister said in a post on X on Sunday.

Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi also condemned the attack, saying such cowardly acts of terrorism will never weaken our national resolve.

“The terrorist networks operating from India and Afghanistan, and the elements sponsoring them, will not be allowed to succeed,” he said adding that those who attack our people will be brought to a fitting and decisive end.

Pakistan Railways’ operational activities will continue without disruption. I have directed the administration to submit an immediate report on the incident.