Death Toll Reaches 198 As Oil Tanker Catches Fire in Pakistan

The victims had rushed to collect leaking fuel from the crashed oil tanker in Bahawalpur, some 400 km from Lahore.

Rescuers and people gathering near burnout vehicles at the accident site in east Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, a district in Punjab, on 25 June 2017.

The death toll in Pakistan's oil tanker inferno rose to 198 on Sunday as four more people, injured in the country's one of the worst fire accidents, succumbed, officials said. The four victims died during the last 24 hours, an official said.

At least 198 people were burnt alive and dozens of others injured after an overturned oil tanker caught fire and exploded near Bahawalpur city in Pakistan's Punjab province on 25 June.

The tanker caught fire and exploded apparently after fuel leakage from its damaged containers.

The death toll may go up further as most of the injured have 60 to 100 percent burns, the official said.

At least 120 people including women and children were killed on the spot and 140 injured last week, a day before Eid, when they rushed to collect leaking fuel from the crashed oil tanker in Bahawalpur, some 400 km from Lahore.

The tanker caught fire after the explosion and some 50,000 litres of petrol spilled from the vehicle. Two fire engines battled the fire and eventually gained control over it. At least six cars and 12 motorcycles were burnt in the blaze.

The tanker, coming from Karachi to Lahore, veered off the road when the driver lost control after one of its tyres burst. The tanker exploded after someone lit a cigarette.

Meanwhile, according to motorway police spokesman Imran Shah, six officials have been suspended on the recommendation of the departmental inquiry committee probing into the incident on the basis of technical data.

Strict punishment has been recommended against the suspended officers, the official added.

Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also constituted a four-member inquiry committee to investigate the Bahawalpur tragedy.

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