MULTAN, Dec 20: A bomb hoax delayed departure of Lahore-bound Karakoram Express by 90 minutes on Saturday.

Reports said the train left Karachi on Friday and arrived at Lodhran at 4:25pm on Saturday, 12 hours behind its scheduled time. A rumour was doing the rounds among the passengers that a bomb had been planted in the train. However, police and bomb disposal squad after a thorough search at Lodhran cleared the train. Passengers were allowed to board the train after scanning. The search delayed the train further.

According to our Faisalabad correspondent, a red alert was declared at the local railway station following a bomb hoax in Karakoram Express.

Bomb disposal squad and civil defence teams reached the station and combed the Chiltan and Millat Express before their departure.—Staff Correspondent