Bodies of Indian train victims reach Pakistan

Feb 22, 2007, 7:47 GMT

Islamabad - The first 12 bodies of Pakistani passengers killed in last weekend's train bombing in India were brought home early Thursday, media reports said.

Indian border authorities initially handed over seven bodies after midnight to Pakistani forces at the Wagah border crossing point in the central Punjab province, where the ill-fated train had been bound when two bombs exploded, Geo news channel reported.

A Pakistan Air Force plane transported the remains of the seven passengers, six of whom were from the same family, to the port city of Karachi. Meanwhile, five more bodies reached Wagah early morning and were also to be flown to Karachi for burial.

Sixty-eight people died after suspected militants at midnight Sunday detonated two bombs supplemented with flammable fuels on the Samjhauta Express ferrying Indian and Pakistani nationals from New Delhi to the border station of Attari.

Of 28 bodies so far identified, 23 were Pakistanis. Some 750 people were thought to have been on the train when the explosions caused fires that destroyed two carriages. Obstructed doors contributed to the high death toll, and at least 60 people were injured.

Islamabad and New Delhi condemned the terrorist act as an attempt to disrupt the peace process between the countries.