More Than 150 Were Killed And 100 Injured In Pakistan After Fuel Tanker Overturns And Explodes

A fuel tanker overturned and exploded in Pakistan’s Punjab province, killing more than 150 and Injuring more than 100 people who had come to collect from the fuel spillage.

By Stephen

Updated: Monday, June 26, 2017, 16:21 [IST]

At least 153 people were killed, and dozens more were injured by burns from a fire caused by the explosion of a petrol tanker in an incident near Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province. The incident occurred when the truck overturned after skidding off a national highway it was being driven on.

The truck did not explode immediately after it overturned, but there was petrol spillage, and this attracted people from nearby areas. People came to the overturned fuel tanker with buckets, and kitchen vessels to collect as much fuel as they can. Sources said the truck burst into a fireball ten minutes after it had overturned.

Fuel Tanker Explosion In Pakistan Kills more than 150

The flames immediately engulfed all the people who had surrounded the truck, gathering fuel. It is still unclear how the fire started since it is now known that it was not because of the sparks caused by the truck overturning itself.

Around 100 people who were injured were taken to a local hospital, most of them with 80 percent burns. Since the local hospital was not capable of handling injuries to that extent, around 90 people were taken to the Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital.

Reports have emerged that, the area in which the incident occurred was an area where poverty was widespread, and hence the people did not think twice before approaching the overturned tanker to collect the spilt fuel.

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It is still unclear how the fire started, and until investigations are completed, it would not be right to assume the cause. Even mobile phone radiation is capable of starting a fire wherever there is petrol. Whatever the cause of the fire, such a disaster could have been averted, only if the people had stayed away from the overturned truck.