According to Mohammad Baqar, the Rescue Service Officer, an Oil Tanker exploded on the highway in Pakistan on Sunday. The explosion killed at least 150 people including children as they were gathering to collect the leaking fuel from the truck.
What did really happen to the oil tanker?
The oil tanker was heading from the southern port city of Karachi toward Lahore, the capital of Punjab province when the driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle and crashed near the small village Bahawalpur in eastern Pakistan.
The apparent reason for the accident was a tire burst.
Once the vehicle crashed, a loudspeaker alarmed the village inhabitants from the top of a local mosque about the leaking fuel. It wasn't long until the local villagers started to gather alongside the highway with empty cans, jars, and all sorts of containers in order to collect the fuel that was leaking from the crashed oil tanker.
According to the witnesses, the highway police was trying to restore order to the traffic, but they were unable to control the horde of villagers who were rushing to the scene, most of them riding on motorcycles in order to reach the tanker.
The presumable cause of the oil tanker explosion
According to Jam Sajjad Hussain, the Rescue Service Officer, someone tried to light a cigarette which resulted in the massive explosion in the moment when the fire from the cigarette met the fuel that spilled from the oil tanker.
Regional Police Chief, Raja Riffat said that "after about 10 minutes the tanker exploded in a huge fireball and enveloped the people collecting petrol' and that 'it was not clear how the fire started," as reported by Sky News.
When an oil tanker overturned in Pakistan, residents rushed to collect the gushing fuel. Then the tanker exploded. https://t.co/imIdoFhMS2 pic.twitter.com/bNsebxurGM
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 25, 2017
The flame was everywhere and it took more than 2 hours for firefighters to finally put down the fire.
Army helicopters sent by the military carried the victims, some of them gravely injured with serious burns, to the nearest hospital in Bahawalpur.
Some bodies were burnt beyond recognition
Abdul Malik, local Police Officer was one of the first people to witness this horrible tragedy. He saw people trapped in flames screaming for help.
Some of the victims were burnt beyond recognition and they would require a thorough DNA testing in order to be identified so we might expect the number of victims to rise.
"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his grief and ordered provincial leaders to ensure victims received full medical assistance," Sky News reported.
