Probe into oil tanker blast that killed 209

islamabad — Pakistan’s oil and gas regulator expects the first report this week on a road tanker explosion, involving a Shell Pakistan contractor, that killed 209 people, a spokesman for the regulatory authority said.

The June 25 explosion took place after the oil tanker went off road to avoid a collision outside the eastern city of Bahawalpur.

A large crowd of people gathered around the truck and many began collecting fuel in containers when the tanker exploded in a huge fireball.

“We are actively pursuing the issue and expect our third party investigators to issue a report by Thursday and we will then begin proceedings according to our rules and regulations,” a spokesman for the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Imran Ghaznavi, said.

Ghaznavi said the tanker was

We are actively pursuing the issue and expect our third party investigators to issue a report by Thursday Imran Ghaznavi, Ogra spokesman

operated by a contractor hired by Shell Pakistan to transport gasoline from the southern port city of Karachi to Multan. Officials had earlier said the truck was travelling to Lahore.

Shell Pakistan Ltd, a subsidiary of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, issued a statement shortly after the accident saying it would cooperate fully with all investigations.

“Road safety is a priority at Shell and we have already started our own investigation into the cause of the incident,” the company’s managing director, Jawwad Cheema, said in the statement. —