QUETTA, Oct 19: Armed men fired rockets and gunshots on the Quetta-bound Chiltan Express near Panir railway station in Bolan district on Thursday. However, an alert engine driver drove the train into a nearby tunnel, thereby averting a major disaster.

“Two rockets hit the engine and damaged it badly. Passenger bogies also received gunshots,” said official sources, adding that if it had not been for the vigilant engine driver, the train would have met a big disaster.

In other incidents of disturbances in the province, a head-constable of police was seriously injured in a hand-grenade attack in Quetta; two blasts occurred in Gwadar and Zhob; and a Marri militant commander, arrested in an injured condition, died at the hospital.

“Coming from Lahore, the Chiltan Express came under attack from automatic weapons as it reached between the Peshi and Panir railway stations in Bolan district,” said the official sources, adding that there were no casualties, thanks to the timely action by the engine driver.

As a result, Quetta’s rail link with the rest of the country remained cut for hours, said Faiz Bugti, divisional engineer at Quetta division of Pakistan Railways. Since the Chiltan Express was stuck in the tunnel, Jaffar Express, Sindh Express and other trains had to be stopped at earlier stations, he added.

Soon after the incident, heavy contingents of Frontier Corps rushed to the site and cordoned off the whole area. An operation to look for the miscreants was also launched.