OIL-SPILL HORROR
150 killed as Pakistan tanker explodes onto fuel-scavenging crowd
A fuel tanker crashed and exploded in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, killing about 150 people — most of whom had converged on the wreck to collect the spilled fuel, authorities said.
The truck, which was reportedly carrying about 5,500 gallons of fuel, blew up about 45 minutes after overturning on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur a day before Pakistan celebrates Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
About 20 children were said to have been among those killed in the blast, which also left at least 40 people with serious burns and destroyed dozens of motorbikes and several cars.
Authorities speculated that people among the gathered crowd may have been on cellphones or smoking cigarettes around the fuel spill, either of which could have sparked the massive explosion.
Khalil Ahmed, a 57-year-old resident, said people in the povertystricken, hardscrabble community became excited after the tanker wrecked on the highway — and ran to the scene with bottles, cans and household utensils as the fuel pooled on the road.
“People began calling their relatives to come and gather the oil, and some showed up from nearby villages, as well. There must have been 500 people gathered when the fire began,” said Ahmed, a former government officials.
He said he lost 12 relatives in the blaze, which raged for two hours before it was extinguished.
Rescue-services spokesman Jam Sajjad Hussain said the driver of the tanker had been speeding around a curb and blew a tire.
Witnesses initially said the explosion was sparked by a person collecting oil who discarded a lit cigarette. Officials said the fire may also have been started by a hot cellphone battery.
“Yes, sparking from cellphones could ignite fire,” said Harron-urRasheed, a former police official who works with rescue operations in Bahawalpur.
Those with serious burns were airlifted to hospitals in the nearby city of Multan, authorities said.
Secunder Kermani, a correspondent with BBC News, posted a series of grim photos from the scene, including the highway littered with bodies and the charred remains of pots that were being used to collect the gas.
“Almost inevitable that the dead will be amongst the poorest in society . . . who else would risk their lives for a few dollars worth of fuel?” he wrote on Twitter.
The driver of the tanker survived the accident and was taken into police custody.