At least 24 dead and 50 injured in Quetta railway station blast

QUETTA: An explosion near Quetta Railway station on Saturday resulted in at least 24 people being killed and at least 50 injured.

Police and rescue teams are currently at the scene and are shifting the injured and dead bodies to the hospital according to police officials. Doctors and paramedics are heading to the scene, while an emergency was declared at the hospital. The bomb disposal squad is also collecting evidence from the blast site.

Quetta commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat stated that the blast targeted security forces.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast, expressing sorrow over the loss of life. He ordered for immediate medical assistance to the injured, and requested an incident report from the Balochistan government.

The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, also condemned the attack, stating that “terrorists are targeting innocent civilians.” “We will pursue the terrorists and bring them to justice,” said Bugti, adding that “we will eradicate terrorism from Balochistan.”

The Federal Minister of Information, Atta Tarar, condemned the blast, stating “we are determined to eradicate terrorism from the country.” He added that “we will take every necessary step to eliminate terrorism from the nation.”

The Quetta Senior Superintendent of SSP Operations, Muhammad Baloch, stated that the running theory, due to the timing of the blast when passengers on the platform were high, is a suicide bombing. The Superintendent stated that around 200 to 250 people were at the station during the blast.

Police are still trying to determine the nature of the blast. The blast occurred on the stations platform with a large amount of people in the area at the time.

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