Islamabad: At least 157 people were burnt alive and around 200 injured when an overturned oil tanker caught fire and exploded in Bahawalpur district of Pakistan's Punjab province on Sunday. The tanker, carrying around 50,000 litres of oil, was on its way from Karachi to Lahore, when it slipped off the road and overturned while taking a sharp turn near Ahmedpur Sharqia. Senior police officer Raja Riffat said when the tanker turned over, residents of nearby villages rushed to the site with buckets, pots, jars and water coolers to collect the spilling fuel. A large number of people came on motorcycles, he said, adding that it was not clear how the fire started.
“Police tried to keep people away from the tanker but they continued filling their containers with fuel,” said Imran Shah, an officer with highway police. Eyewitnesses said the driver too was shouting for people to stay away as the petrol could catch fire any time, but no one listened. Media reports said some people were smoking at the scene and a cigarette butt might have sparked the fire. As the tanker exploded, a huge ball of fire engulfed the people in close vicinity. A doctor said more than 100 people were brought to the hospital with 80% burns and about 90 of them were rushed to larger hospitals in Multan and Bahawalpur in army helicopters. “Most of those taken to hospitals got 70% burn injuries,” said Dr Rizwan Naseer, director of Punjab provincial rescue services. He said 50 bodies were burned beyond recognition.
