Fireball leaves 150 dead as overturned oil tanker explodes
Residents rushed to collect fuel after accident that left 200 people injured, some with severe burns
Mohammad Zubair Khan
James Rothwell
AT LEAST 150 people were killed yesterday after an overturned oil truck exploded in a huge fireball while crowds scavenged for fuel.
Video footage of the scene, near Multan in Pakistan’s Punjab province, showed dozens of charred corpses lined up in a field by the side of the road, some covered in white shrouds.
A further 200 people were injured in the explosion, most suffering 70 per cent burns, according to local police. The oil tanker was carrying 50,000 litres of fuel from Karachi to Lahore when it slipped and overturned in the small town of Ahmedpur East.
“When the tanker turned over, residents 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,” local police chief Raja Riffat told The Daily Telegraph.
“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, we started an investigation and still we cannot say anything [about the cause].”
He added that many bodies were “badly burnt beyond identification” and that the death toll was likely to rise.
Dozens of vehicles, including 75 motorcycles and four cars, were engulfed in the blaze, which firefighters were still struggling to subdue yesterday afternoon.
“At least 40 of the injured are in critical condition and are being transferred to hospitals in Multan for treatment,” said Dr Rizwan Naseer, the director of Punjab rescue services.
“Most of those taken to the hospitals got 70 per cent burn injuries.”
Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, announced he would cut short his visit to London and return to Pakistan immediately. Seven brothers from one family were reportedly among the dead, as well as two sisters who were about to get married.
“Everyone in the family and the village is deeply shocked. Nobody is able to explain what just happened,” said Hafiz Sohailm, who lost his uncle and cousin in the explosion. “For quite some time, I was unable to understand what was going on.”
Mohammad Shabbir, another resident, claimed the driver was shouting for people to stay away because the petrol could explode at any time, but no one listened.
Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab law minister, told local reporters that the tanker driver had survived the crash and been taken into custody.
Pakistan has a poor record of fatal traffic accidents due to shoddy roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. At least 62 people, including women and children, were killed in southern Pakistan in 2015 when their bus collided with an oil tanker.
Many Pakistanis were already unnerved by a series of deadly militant attacks across the country on Friday. The official death toll from the assaults in three cities now stands at 69.