Islam Abad, SANA-At least 24 people were killed, and more than 40 others injured after an explosion occurred at the Quetta Railway Station in Pakistan’s Balochistan on Saturday. At the time of the blast, a train was ready to depart from the platform for Peshawar.
Quetta senior superintendent of Police (SSP) operations Mohammad Baloch told press aencies the incident “seems to be a suicide blast” but it would be too early to say for sure, adding that an investigation was underway to ascertain the nature of the blast.
Speaking to reporters, SSP Baloch added that “around 100 people” were present at the site, Dawn News reported citing footage seen by him.
Mohammad Baloch, a senior police officer, said the bomb exploded when passengers were waiting for a train to travel to the garrison city of Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province.
In a statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said police and security forces had reached the site of the incident.
Shahid Rind said the nature of the blast was being investigated as the Bomb Disposal Squad was collecting evidence from the site, and a report on the incident had been sought.
Shahid Rind said the death toll from the attack was likely to rise as some of the wounded passengers were listed in critical condition.
Mazen Eyon