ISLAMABAD, May 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 24 people were killed and 82 others injured in a blast targeting a shuttle of the Jaffar Express in the country's southwest Balochistan province on Sunday, police sources said.

The shuttle, carrying law enforcement personnel heading home for Eid holidays, had departed from Quetta Cantonment when the explosion occurred around 8:05 a.m. local time, sources told Xinhua on the condition of anonymity.

Multiple bogies derailed and two caught fire following the blast, which also damaged nearby vehicles. Women and children were among the dead and injured, the sources added.

Fifty-seven of the injured were shifted to a military hospital and 25 to the Civil Hospital in Quetta.

Preliminary investigations suggested the attack was carried out using a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device packed with more than 70 kg of explosives, according to the sources. ■