Terror attack: Train blast kills toddler, injures 35

Senior official says bomb was planted in the washroom.

FAISALABAD:

A toddler was killed and at least 35 people injured on Monday when a blast ripped through a wagon of the Shalimar Express.

The bomb blast took place in the wagon no 7 of the Shalimar Express, coming from Lahore to Karachi, near Chatiana, about 15 kilometres away from Toba Tek Singh.

Pakistan Railways spokesman Asad Munir said there were more than 60 passengers present in the wagon at the time of the explosion. “A child passenger died and 35 others sustained multiple injuries and were rushed to the Toba District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ),” the spokesman said.

Some 8-10 kilogrammes of explosive material were used in the blast which severely damaged the train wagon.

Acting Divisional Commissioner Najam Ahmad Shah informed that the explosive had been planted at an open space on the upper top of a toilet.  He said Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif had ordered an investigation into the incident, “whose report is to be submitted to him within 24 hours”.

Karim Bux, an eyewitness, told reporters that the blast was heard about four kilometres away from the site and people of the area immediately thronged the spot and started pushing out the injured on a self-help basis.

“A Rescue 1122 team also reached the spot after time some and started the rescue operation,” he added.

A spokesman for the DHQ hospital, Ghulam Qadir, said 21 out of the 35 injured were discharged after necessary aid; while 14 patients were admitted. “Due to their critical condition, two of these patients including a woman and her four-year-child were referred to Allied Hospital Faisalabad, where the child passed away,” he added.

However according to the APP, three people lost their lives in the blast.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2013.