Armed militants in the Balochistan Pakistan region attacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers and took several hostages, military sources told the BBC.
The Baloch Liberation Army fired Jaffar Express’s train while traveling from Quette to Peshawar.
The separatist group statement states that she bombarded the trail before pulling the train in a remote Sibi district. Claimed the train was under his control.
Pakistani police said at least three people, including train driver, were injured. Security forces have been sent to the scene, as well as helicopters to try to save hostages, police told the BBC.
There were “intense shooting reports” on the train, “a spokesman for the Balochistan Government told the Dawn local newspaper. A senior police official said “remains stuck just before the tunnel surrounded by mountains,” AFP news agency reports.
Baloch’s liberation army warned of “severe consequences” if the tries to save the ones he holds.
He spent a decade a rebellion to gain independence and trigger numerous deadly attacks, often aiming for police station, railway and highway. Pakistani authorities – as well as several Western countries, including the UK and the United States – blazing the terrorist organization.
The Quetta Muhammad Kashif controller told the BBC that 400-450 passengers were reserved on the train. The officials did not confirm how much they thought they were taken hostage.
Railway officials in Quetti, quoting paramilitary sources, told the BBC that women and children had dropped out of the train and walked toward the town of Sibi. They didn’t have the exact number.
In the meantime, passenger families are trying to get information from the counter at Quetta train station.
The son of a passenger, Muhammad Ashraf, who left Quetta in Lahore on Tuesday morning, told BBC Urdu that he was unable to contact his father. Officials say that one has yet to communicate with anyone on the train.
The area does not have internet coverage and mobile network, the BBC officials said.
Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan and the richest in terms of natural resources, but it is least developed.
Additional Reporting Usman Zahid and BBC Urdu
