‘Hundreds’ of kidnapped train hostages are still being held by armed men after dozens were released, with children and women seen protecting at the station

The terrified liberated hostages walked through the mountain land after armed militants kidnapped a train in the volatile Baluchistan province of the southwest Pakistan.

Baloch’s Liberation Army (Bla) separatist blew a railroad track to catch a passenger train inside a tunnel before exchange shots with safety guards on board.

The crossfire left three people dead with the insurgents threatening to start executing the 214 people who said they had taken hostage.

The train was traveling from the provincial capital of Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar when it was attacked in the Bolan district, said government spokesman Shahid Rind, describing it as “an act of terrorism.”

The survivors walked through the injured land to the nearest train station and traveled to Mach, about 124 miles from the Iran border.

Since then, the waiting room at the city station has become an impromptu hospital to treat the injured where children and women have been seen inside.

The first trains carrying survivors were late on Tuesday night to be fulfilled by paramilitary and doctors forces.

“I am treating two officers (police), one was shot five times, while the other was injured in his knee,” said the paramedic Qazim Farooq.

Children, men and women have been seen protecting themselves inside the station after being released: on March 11, 2025

A soldier works to evacuate train passengers released at the Mach train station – March 11, 2025

The released hostages have described how the terrified passengers hid under their seats before the militants broke out on board and began to separate the men from the women.

‘I can’t find the words to describe how we escape. It was terrifying, ‘said Muhammad Bilal.

Bilal had been traveling with his mother on the Jafar Express train when he was caught in the explosive crossfire.

More than 100 hostages have been released from the train, which remains retained by rebel forces.

The fate of the rest of the 500 estimated people on board was not clear immediately.

“I heard an explosion followed by shooting when the militants boarded the train,” said Passenger Allahditta at Mach’s train station.

‘People began to hide under panic seats. The militants separated women from women. They allowed me to go to me and my family because I told them that I was a patient with the heart, ‘said the 49 -year -old man.

‘We walk for a long time through the mountains to get to the nearest station. I have not eaten since I started fasting this morning, but I still can’t eat, ‘Allahditta added, referring to the Sacred Muslim month of Ramadan.

Pakistani security forces take security measures at the Quetta train station after a Jaffar Express train attack in the Bolan de Baluchistan area – March 11, 2025

Armed Pakistani security forces are at the guard at the Quetta train station – March 11, 2025

The survivors walked through the injured land to the nearest train station and traveled to Mach, about 124 miles from the Iran border.

Police officers, media members and some relatives of passengers of a train attacked by insurgents, meet at a railroad station in Quetta – March 11, 2025

PAQUISTANI PATROL SECURITY OFFICIALS OF THE QUETTA train station after they increased after a militant attack on a passenger train – March 11, 2025

A passenger described armed men who classified through identity letters to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a series of recent attacks carried out by Bla.

“They came and reviewed identifications and service cards and fired two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to, I don’t know where,” said a passenger who asked not to be named, after walking four hours to the nearest train station.

“They reviewed the identifications and the terrorists took them to the punjabis,” he added.

Ambulances were sent, but access was not easy due to resistant and mountainous terrain.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, strongly condemned the attack and requested the immediate release of the hostages, said UN spokesman Stephane Durric.

Later, three security officials told Associated Press that the troops rescued at least 80 passengers, including women and children, and 13 attackers had been killed.

The Jaffar Express was heading since Quetta in the province of Southwest Baluchistan of Pakistan to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when he shot, rail officials said

The BLA separatist group has assumed the responsibility of the attack. Photo: Bla Fighters

Pakistani security officials inspect the vehicles into a control point in Baluchistan after the attack

Pakistani security guard at a control point after security intensified after an alleged militant attack on a passenger train in Sibi, Baluchistan province

Three security officials said that Bla, that Pakistan and the United States have designated a terrorist organization, ambushed the train inside a tunnel and used women and children as human shields. They said that the troops have launched an operation to rescue the hostages.

Baluchistan trains generally have security personnel on board. The separatists have previously carried out mortal attacks in trains in the region.

In November, a separatist group made a suicide bombing at a railway station in Quetta that killed 26 people.

Baluchistan rich in oil and mineral is the largest and least populated province of Pakistan. It is a center for the ethnic minority of Baloch of the country, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.