A bomb attack claimed by Pakistani separatists at a railway station in southwestern Balochistan province killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers, a hospital spokesman said on Saturday.

The explosion occurred while passengers were waiting on a platform at the main railway station in the provincial capital Quetta.

“14 army members and 12 civilians were killed,” Quetta Sandeman Provincial Hospital spokesman Wasim Baig said, adding to the death toll of 25 previously reported by police.

The spokesman stated that 46 security guards and 14 civilians were injured.

Journalists saw puddles of blood and torn backpacks at the scene, where a large metal sheet had blown away, protecting passengers from the weather.

Despite frequent attacks in Balochistan, the toll of Saturday’s explosion was especially high for the southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

The explosion at the railway station occurred at around 8.45am and was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the main separatist groups in the region.

The BLA said in a statement that the attack “was carried out on a Pakistani army unit at Quetta railway station after completing a course at the Infantry School.”

Pakistan’s official news agency, Associated Press, quoted railway officials as saying that the explosion occurred near the ticket booth when two trains were scheduled to depart.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the attackers “will pay a heavy price”, according to the statement made by his office.

The BLA frequently alleges deadly attacks on security forces or Pakistanis from other provinces, especially Punjabis.

Police at Quetta station said they were working to determine the cause of the explosion.

“When we reached here, it initially appeared that an explosive device might have been hidden or left in the trunk. But now we think it could be a suicide bomber,” a senior local police official Mohammed Baloch told reporters.

Firefighters, rescue teams and passengers were working on abandoned luggage on the platform guarded by heavily armed security forces.

Militants have targeted foreign-financed energy projects in the past, accusing foreigners of exploiting the resource-rich region and excluding residents of Pakistan’s poorest region.

In August, the BLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks in which dozens of attackers killed at least 39 people; this is one of the highest losses in the region. (AFP)