27 killed, 62 wounded in Quetta explosion

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Dozens of people were killed and wounded in a massive suicide bombing in the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday morning.

At least 27 people were killed and 62 others injured, 10 of them critically, in the attack on the Quetta railway station, a spokesman for the provincial government told a private TV channel.

Shahid Rind told Geo News Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti had cancelled his foreign visit and would return soon to chair an emergency meeting on the security situation.

Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat confirmed the explosion was a suicide attack. The bomber entered the station with luggage, he revealed.

Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mohammad Baloch told journalists the incident appeared to be a suicide attack.

An investigation was ongoing to determine the nature of the explosion, Baloch said, adding about 100 people” were present at the site.

Officials, meanwhile, suggested the death toll could go up as the railway station was crowded at the time of the bombing. Police and rescue teams rushed to the site.

The casualties were evacuated to the Quetta Civil Hospital, where an emergency was declared and more doctors and paramedics were called for assistance.

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