Akbar Express: Blast derails wagons of Quetta-bound train

QUETTA:

A passenger train bound for Quetta escaped disaster on Saturday when a bomb planted on the tracks exploded and derailed two wagons. No loss of life was reported.

Insurgents detonated a remote-controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) when the train, Akbar Express, was passing through Dera Allahyar district of Balochistan on Saturday morning, said Mohammed Dawood Khoso, a police inspector.

“No one was hurt in the incident,” Inspector Khoso said. Both the derailed wagons were luggage cars carrying armed guards, according to Khoso.

He also pointed out that the track was largely intact and usable after the explosion which failed to derail the whole train. Had it been any different, he said, there would have been a major tragedy.

The fish plates — which join two or more portions of the track — were shaken but the track was not completely damaged in the explosion, he explained. The rescue workers and police reached the site along with a contingent of security forces. The rescue work was concluded after two hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2015.