9 killed, 100 injured as train derails in Pakistan's Balochistan

KARACHI: At least nine persons were killed and 100 others injured today when a passenger train derailed in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.

The incident took place this morning at Ab-i-gum area in Bolan district of the province.

Four coaches of Jaffar Express, en route to Rawalpindi from the provincial capital of Quetta, derailed from its tracks. The driver and assistant drive of the train are among the nine persons killed in the accident.

According to the Prima facie investigations, the train derailed due to the failure of its brakes, Dawn reported.

Rescue sources were quoted as saying that nine people had died and around 100 others wounded in the mishap. The victims were rushed to nearby hospitals in Quetta where an emergency has been declared in all hospitals.

On November 1, four persons were killed and six others injured when a remote-controlled bomb placed close to railway track struck a passenger train in Balochistan province.

The remote-controlled blast took place when Jaffar Express was running on the outskirts of Quetta. Those killed were railway employees. The outlawed United Baloch Army had claimed responsibility for the blast, the report said.