QUETTA: At least 14 people were killed and several others were injured after a blast tore through a shuttle train in Quetta on Sunday morning, the Balochistan government said.

State-run APP, citing railway authorities, said the shuttle train was heading from Quetta Cantonment to the railway station when it was targeted near Chaman Phatak shortly after 8am.

In a statement, Shahid Rind, an aide to the chief minister on media and political affairs, said the “number of martyrs” in the blast has reached 14.

These included three personnel of the Frontier Corps, he added.

“Multiple people” were injured in the blast, including women and children, who were taken to a hospital, Rind said.

“Terrorists targeted innocent civilians,” he said, adding that security forces have cordoned off the area.

Rind said the targeting of public places was a “proof of the terrorists’ confusion”.

The nature of the explosion could not be immediately ascertained. It is feared that casualties could be much higher.

The police, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the bomb disposal squad had reached the incident site to collect evidence.

Pakistan Railways said rescue trucks and a relief train were dispatched to the site to assist in emergency operations.

The explosion derailed three coaches, including the locomotive, while two coaches overturned, APP reported.

The blast was loud enough to be heard in various distant areas of the city and caused damage to nearby buildings. A fire reported to have sparked in nearby cars was controlled after intense efforts involving multiple fire brigade vehicles.

Images showed a mangled train carriage on its side as people clambered over the wreckage to find survivors. People could be seen carrying blood-soaked victims on stretchers away from a derailed car, while armed security forces stood guard.

One video showed about 10 vehicles, mostly small cars, charred as fire and black smoke emerged from some of them. Multiple ambulances could be seen arriving at the site in another video.

Earlier footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising from a raging fire, with at least one train coach turned over at a short distance.

A medical emergency was declared in Quetta’s hospitals, with all doctors, paramedical staff, and medical personnel summoned to duty, Rind was quoted as saying by the government on X.

Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti was personally monitoring the situation, according to the statement.

“The involved elements cannot escape the law,” Rind said, adding that the injured were being provided the best treatment facilities.

Mohammad Rahim, who was near the site of the attack, told AFP he was sleeping when the explosion ripped through the area.

“My family and I jumped out of our beds when we heard a loud bang,” he said.

“I heard screaming and the crying of women and children in the building, including my family.”

Another witness, Abdul Basit, told AFP he was standing in a queue to buy breakfast when he heard the blast. “People started running for shelter,” he said.

Mujib Ahmad said that his car was damaged in the explosion. “When I heard the blast, I thought that it must be an attack,” he told AFP.

Condemnations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the “heinous bomb explosion”.

“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan. We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he wrote on X.

The premier expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.

“The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief,” he added.

“The terrorists of Fitna al Hindustan are proving their savagery by targeting innocent civilians, women, and children,” Bugti wrote on X, strongly condemning the attack.

The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

“Let the enemy hear this: there will be no safe haven left for terrorists in Balochistan. We will hunt down the terrorists, their facilitators, and their masterminds one by one and bring them to justice, and this war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated,” Bugti vowed.

Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi also condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism”, adding that it would not weaken the nation’s resolve against militancy.

In a statement, Abbasi said that “anti-Pakistan elements operating from India and Afghanistan were sponsoring terrorism to destabilise the country”.

The minister directed the authorities concerned to submit an immediate report on the incident.

He further reaffirmed that Pakistan Railways’ operational activities would continue without interruption despite the attack.

Abbasi said hostile forces were involved in malicious activities aimed at spreading unrest and fear in Pakistan.

Slamming terrorists as “enemies of humanity”, the minister asserted they would be “brought to a disgraceful end”.

“Terrorist networks operating from India and Afghanistan would never be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs against Pakistan,” Abbasi said.

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This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.

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Additional input from APP, AFP