3 killed, 30 injured as blast hits passenger train in central Pakistan

Three people were killed and 30 others injured when a blast hit a passenger train in central Pakistan's Rajanpur District on Friday morning, police said.

Quoting unknown police sources, Dawn TV said the explosion derailed five compartments of Khushhal Khan Khattak in Umerkot area of Rajanpur, a district in the country's eastern Punjab province.

Some media reports said the oil tanker of the train exploded following the blast.

The blast was triggered off by a remote control and the explosive materials were fixed at the railway track.

Chief Controller Railway Station Naseem Ahmed Doger said the train was moving at the speed of 60-70 km per hour from Peshawar to Karachi when the explosion occurred.

He said two relief trains have been dispatched to the blast site to drop passengers to Karachi.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Police cordoned off the area and carried out rescue operations.

Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique condemned the blast and sought report from concerned authorities. He also announced an aid of 500,000 rupees for the killed and 100,000 rupees for the injured people.