QUETTA: A powerful explosion hit a passenger train in Mastung district of Balochistan province on Thursday, derailing four bogeys off the tracks and injuring at least 12 people, Levies and police officials said.

According to sources in the Levies security force, the blast ripped through the Quetta-bound Bugti Express coming from Lahore as it was passing through Dasht area of Mastung.

Senior police officer Imran Qureshi confirmed the incident.

Qureshi said a bomb appeared to have been planted on the railway tracks and it exploded as the train passed, derailing four bogies and injuring 12 passengers.

The passenger train was stopped following the blast, and police and rescue workers were called in to evacuate the injured to Quetta for medical treatment.

It was still unclear whether the explosion was a terrorist attack, but militants often target railway tracks and blow up gas pipelines in the southwestern province’s troubled areas.