QUETTA: The Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express narrowly escaped a disaster on Thursday when a bomb placed on the railway track near Mithri missed it by a few seconds.

No casualty was reported, though the train service between Sibi and other parts of the country was affected.

The explosion occurred at the main track near Mithri in Bolan district, seconds after the last carriages of the passenger train had passed through. The explosion did cause slight damage to two passenger carriages.

Subsequently, the train service remained suspended as a significant portion of the track was destroyed in the explosion.

The explosion was so strong that it shook the entire area, railway authorities said.

The Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express escaped the blast by a few seconds

“The blast occurred when the last carriages had passed the site where the device had been placed,” said a senior railway official in Sibi, adding that two carriages were slightly damaged.

Railway officials from Sibi and Frontier Corps personnel reached the site soon after the blast. Security forces cordoned off the area and started investigation. Railway officials allowed the Jaffar Express to resume its journey after inspecting all the carriages.

Other outgoing passenger trains, including Bolan Mail, were stopped at Sibi Railway Station while trains travelling to Quetta from Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were stopped at Jacobabad and Dera Murad Jamali railway stations, respectively.

Engineers and other staff of Pakistan Railways reached the site to replace the damaged track.

An official said that rail traffic would be restored on Friday morning.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2016