Bus fire kills flood victims

AT LEAST 18 people, including 12 children, were killed in a bus fire as they journeyed home after fleeing catastrophic monsoon flooding, Pakistani officials and rescue workers said last Thursday (13).

Pakistan has been hit by unprecedented rains this year, putting a third of the nation under water, displacing eight million, and causing $28 billion (£25bn) worth of devastation.

As the waters recede, thousands of the displaced are travelling back to their homes to remake their lives.

Police said the passengers died when flames broke out overnight on a northbound bus outside the city of Karachi, where they settled after fleeing one of the worst flood-hit areas.

“They were going back to their village when they were overtaken by this accident,” Vinod Kumar, a district health official at the scene, said.

“Apparently, the fire broke out in the air-conditioning system of the bus but investigations will reveal the real cause,” said police officer Hashim Brohi, who was also present.

The floods across the nation – which have killed 1,700 – have been linked to

climate change.