20 die as train derails in Pakistan

Islamabad, Nov 17 (IANS) At least 20 people were killed and 100 injured when four coaches of the Jaffar Express derailed in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Tuesday, the media reported.

The dead included the driver and the assistant driver of the train which derailed in Bolan district when it was en route to Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan province, Geo Tv reported.

The accident took place as the train's brakes failed, Balochistan home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said.

The injured were shifted to hospitals in Quetta city where an emergency has been declared in all the hospitals.

A quick rescue force along with ambulances reached the accident site, according to a statement issued by the army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Two MI-17 helicopters of the Pakistan Army have also flown from Quetta for the rescue operation, the statement added.

Earlier this month, three passengers of the Jaffar Express were killed and 11 injured in a bomb blast on a railway track in Mastung district.