Explosion kills 153 Pakistanis gathering fuel from overturned tanker truck

by WorldTribune Staff, June 25, 2017

An overturned oil tanker exploded in Pakistan, killing at least 153 people who had been trying to gather fuel that had spilled in the crash.

At least 153 people were killed in an oil tanker explosion near Bahawalpur, Pakistan. / EPA

The oil tanker overturned on a bend in a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur, Reuters reported on June 25.

About 45 minutes after the crash, the tanker exploded after someone lit a cigarette, local officials said.

“People of the area and passersby had started gathering fuel when it exploded, burning everybody,” provincial government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan told Reuters.

At least 20 of those killed are children.

The tanker, which was traveling from Karachi to Lahore, was carrying 25,000 liters (5,500 gallons) of fuel.

Kahn said that the driver of the oil tanker survived the incident and has been taken into custody.


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