153 killed as oil tanker explodes in Pakistan
VICTIMS GATHERED TO COLLECT LEAKING FUEL FROM OVERTURNED TRUCK
Alerted by an announcement over a mosque’s loudspeaker that an overturned tanker truck had sprung a leak, scores of villagers raced to the scene with fuel containers yesterday to gather the oil. Then the wreck exploded, engulfing people in flames as they screamed in terror.
At least 153 men, women and children were killed, and dozens more among the 140 injured, in critical condition, health minister of Punjab province Khawaja Imran Nazir said.
Punjab Chief Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced Rs2 million (Dh70,250) each for families of the deceased and Rs1 million each for the injured.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life. Victims trapped in the fireball. They were screaming for help,” said Abdul Malik, a police officer who was among the first to arrive on the scene of horror in Punjab province.
When the flames subsided, he said, “we saw bodies everywhere. So many were just skeletons. The people who were alive were in really bad shape.”
About 30 motorcycles that villagers had used to rush to the site of the highway accident lay charred nearby along with cars, witnesses said. As victims cried out for help, residents wandered through the area, looking for loved ones.
The fuel truck was travelling from the southern port city of Karachi to Lahore, the Punjab provincial capital, when the driver lost control and crashed on a highway outside Bahawalpur.
A loudspeaker atop a mosque alerted villagers to the leaking fuel, and many rushed to the scene with fuel containers, said Rana Mohammad Salim, deputy commissioner of Bahawalpur.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday decided to immediately return to the country winding up his engagements in London after the tragedy. — Agencies
Aoverturned oil tanker burst into flames in Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 153 people who had rushed to the scene of the highway accident to gather leaking fuel, a hospital official said as the death toll continued to rise.
The horrific tragedy came less than a day before Pakistan was due to begin Eid Al Fitr celebrations marking the end of Ramadan, with many roads crowded as people travel home for the holidays. The tanker carrying 40,000 litres of fuel overturned on a main highway while travelling from Karachi to Lahore, near the town of Ahmadpur East in Punjab province.
Dr Javed Iqbal at Bahawalpur’s Victoria Hospital in south Punjab said the latest deaths occurred at a hospital in Multan where some of the 50 critically injured, many of whom suffered extensive burns, had been taken. The death toll could rise further as dozens are still in critical condition, said Dr. Mohammad Baqar, a senior rescue official in the area.
Details were unclear but some witnesses suggested the tanker had suffered a burst tyre, said regional police chief Raja Riffat. “When it turned over the residents of the nearby village of Ramzanpur Joya rushed to the site with buckets and other containers, and a large number of people on motorcycles also came and started collecting the spilling fuel,” Riffat told AFP.
“After about 10 minutes the tanker exploded in a huge fireball and enveloped the people collecting petrol. It was not clear how the fire started.”
Residents could be seen walking past blackened and twisted bodies piled by the side of the road. Earlier, television footage showed shooting flames and a thick plume of smoke as firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze. The charred wreckage of dozens of motorcycles and cars could be seen scattered on the highway, along with kitchen utensils, pots, water coolers and buckets which victims had brought to collect the petrol.
‘Horrible scene’
Mohammad Salim was among those who ran toward the smoke carrying buckets of water and sand, but said the heat was too intense to reach those in need. “I could hear people screaming but I couldn’t get to them,” he said.
Abdul Malek, a local police officer who was also among the first to arrive, described a “horrible scene.” “I have never seen anything like it in my life. Victims trapped in the fireball. They were screaming for help,” he said. When the fire subsided, “we saw bodies everywhere, so many were just skeletons. The people who were alive were in really bad shape,” he said.
Eyewitnesses said about 30 motorcycles that had carried villagers to the accident site lay charred nearby. Eight other vehicles were destroyed, they said. A state of emergency was declared at the Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur, said Dr Iqbal. He said most of the patients suffered burns to upward of 80 per cent of their bodies. Both Riffat and senior local government official Rana Mohammad Saleem Afzal, speaking to state television, said at least 100 were wounded.
“Most of the bodies could not be identified as they have been charred very badly,” Riffat said.
Punjab provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told private ARY television that DNA tests were being used to identify the dead. He said the driver of the tanker had survived the crash and been taken into custody.
Pakistan Motorway Police spokesman Imran Shah told AFP they received a call about the accident at around 6.30am. Motorway police raced to the scene and tried to keep people away from the tanker, he said, adding that they were ignored as residents continued filling their containers with fuel.
The military said it was send-
ing army helicopters to evacuate the wounded and hospitals were put on high alert. The nearest burns centre is more than 150km away.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his grief and directed the government of Punjab province, run by his brother Shabhaz Sharif, to provide “full medical assistance”.
Pakistan has an appalling record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
I have never seen anything like it in my life. Victims trapped in the fireball. They were screaming for help. [When the fire subsided] we saw bodies everywhere, so many were just skeletons. The people who were alive were in really bad shape.” Abdul Malek | Local police officer When it turned over the residents of the nearby village... rushed to the site with buckets and other containers, and a large number of people on motorcycles also came and started collecting the spilling fuel.” Raja Riffat | Regional police chief Someone should tell me about my beloved sons, where are they? Are they alive or are they no longer in this world? Please tell me.” Zulkha Bibi Mother searching for her two sons