ISLAMABAD, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and 16 others injured when a passenger train caught fire in Rahim Yar Khan district of Pakistan's east Punjab province on Thursday, local media and officials said.

The fire erupted due to explosion of a gas cylinder inside the train on which a passenger was trying to make his breakfast, a railway official told Xinhua, adding that the fire engulfed three compartments of the train.

The fire has been extinguished from two bogies, while one is still ablaze, he said.

The official said that the death toll is feared to rise as some people saved their lives by jumping off the train, but a few might be left inside the bogie which is still under fire.

Local TV channel Geo reported that 10 people have been killed in the train Tezgam Express that was on its way to Punjab's Rawalpindi from southern port city of Karachi.

The injured people have been shifted to a nearby hospital, and the railway traffic will be restored after clearing of the wreckage from the track.