Islamabad, Jan 23 (IANS) At least 32 people were killed early Sunday when a passenger bus collided with an oil tanker on a highway in Pakistan’s Sindh province, officials said.
Several others were injured in the accident that took place near Nooriabad when the speeding bus – moving from Karachi towards Sukkur – spun out of control and collided with the stationary oil tanker.
Both the vehicles immediately caught fire, sources told Geo News, adding that the injured passengers were taken to a hospital in nearby Jamshoro.
There were around 50 people on board, regional police officer Muhammad Farooq was quoted as saying by The Nation.
Farooq said the oil tanker was carrying around 40,000 litres of fuel and both vehicles caught fire and most of the passengers died of burn injuries.
Passengers in the front seats could not come out of the bus due to the severe blaze.
He said several passengers at the back seats, however, succeeded to escape from the bus.
Injured passengers said the coach driver was drowsy and was driving at a high speed. He also ‘ignored’ their advice to remain alert, they alleged.
Police said several women and children were among the dead, adding that the majority of passengers were youth. Rescue teams had to cut through the tangled metal of the bus to extract the burnt bodies.
