Cigarette may have caused fire that killed at least 153 people in Pakistan after oil tanker crash
The vehicle overturned after trying to make a sharp turn on a road on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur
An oil tanker crashed on a road in Pakistan on Sunday and at least 153 people, many of whom had rushed to collect leaking fuel, were killed when it exploded, apparently after someone lit a cigarette, officials said.
The tanker overturned on a sharp bend on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur. The driver lost control when the vehicle blew a tire, a provincial government spokesman said.
A large crowd of people gathered, many to collect fuel in containers, and the tanker exploded in a huge fireball about 45 minutes later. Rescue workers said about 80 people had been injured.
“People of the area and passers-by had started gathering fuel when it exploded, burning everybody,” provincial government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said.
An estimated 20 children were among the dead, he said.
