At least 23 people have been killed and 71 others injured after a suicide bomb attack near a railway station in Quetta, a city in southwestern Pakistan, on Sunday as a passenger train was passing through the area.
The militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which seeks independence from Pakistan’s central government, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Preliminary police findings indicate the explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber.
Rescue and evacuation operations are still ongoing at the site, according to emergency worker Muhammad Zeeshan. Authorities have cordoned off the area while security forces and bomb disposal teams continue to investigate the blast.
Officials say at least 23 bodies have been recovered so far, while 71 injured passengers have been taken to hospitals. An emergency has been declared across hospitals in Quetta as medical teams respond to the influx of casualties.
“I was right there near the tracks. I can’t even believe how we survived,” a man who witnessed the explosion told Reuters. “The blast was so huge. Thank God, we made it out alive.”
Deputy Superintendent Police (City) Qadir Qambrani said the death toll could still rise, noting that more than 100 people are believed to be either dead or injured, though figures are still being verified as rescue work continues at the derailment site.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the attack as a “heinous bomb explosion.”
“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan,” he wrote on X.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Quetta following the incident and chaired a meeting with the chief minister of Balochistan province, expressing solidarity with victims and condemning the attackers, saying that “beasts targeted innocent people with extreme brutality.”
Balochistan, an oil- and mineral-rich province, has long experienced unrest linked to separatist violence.
The BLA has previously claimed responsibility for major bombings and suicide attacks in the region.
In February, the group said it carried out coordinated suicide and gun attacks in Balochistan, which Pakistan’s military said left at least 33 people dead.
