A cylinder explosion inside Jaffar Express train near Chichawatni; 1 dead, at least 9 injured

An explosion inside the Jaffar Express train near Chichawatni is reported to have left one person killed and at least 9 injured on Thursday morning.

Railways sources said that the explosion took place inside bogie number six in the economy class section.

As reported the deceased was a woman who has been identified and she was from Bahawalpur.

In the latest development, a Pakistan Railways spokesperson confirmed that it was a cylinder explosion, saying that the cylinder had been placed in the washroom. The blast occurred inside the washroom area after the train left the station.

The injured persons have been moved to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ), informed Sahiwal District Police Officer (DPO) Faisal Shahzad.

DPO Faisal Shahzad said the passenger train had left from Balochistan’s Machh and was en route to Peshawar.

“As per the statements of the eyewitnesses, the blast occurred inside the washroom area after the train left the Mian Channu station,” he said,

Briefing the reporters, Shahzad said that specialised teams of the counter-terrorism department and Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) had arrived at the site and were collecting evidence.

“We are trying to ascertain the nature of the blast and will share details will you in the due course of time,” he added.

On the other hand, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique ordered a complete probe into the incident.