Eight passengers were injured when a powerful explosion near a railway track derailed six compartments of a train going from Mach to Peshawar on Friday in the restive Balochistan province, a Pakistan Railways spokesperson said.

The explosion took place in the Paneer area of district Bolan in the restive Balochistan province as the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express was passing by the area.

Pakistan Railways spokesperson Muhammad Kashif confirmed that eight passengers were injured when six bogies of the train derailed due to the powerful explosion.

"It appears that the explosive was triggered by a remote control device," he told Dawn.com.

He said rescue teams were dispatched to the spot and the damaged track was repaired, adding that those injured have also been sent to hospital for treatment.

Balochistan has seen a rise in terror incidents since last month with insurgents and militants carrying out several attacks in different areas of the province.

In December there have been attacks on security personnel.

Police have not yet issued a statement on the incident.

On December 25, six security personnel, including a captain, were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Kahan area. Separately, 15 people were injured in a series of grenade attacks carried out by militants in different parts of the province.

On Wednesday, five soldiers were killed when militants opened fire on a convoy of Pakistani security forces across the border with Iran in the restive Balochistan province.