An accident turned into a huge tragedy in eastern Pakistan, when a fuel tanker exploded and killed at least 153 people. Dozens more were injured and are in critical condition, mostly with severe burns to as much as 80 percent of their bodies. The tanker appeared to be speeding and overturned during a sharp turn on the highway outside the city of Bahawalpur. The driver, who apparently lost control of the truck after he blew a tire, survived the accident.
Most of those who died at the scene were local villagers who went to look at the accident and collect leaking fuel in containers. Many people gathered quickly at least in part because a loudspeaker on top of a mosque in the area alerted villagers about the leaking fuel. Police officers tried to keep people away from the crash but they were overwhelmed by people rushing to get a hold of the valuable product.
About 45 minutes after the initial crash, the tanker exploded into a huge fireball and people at the scene couldn’t do anything to get away from the flames.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life,” a police officer said. “Victims trapped in the fireball. They were screaming for help.” Many of the bodies at the scene were burned beyond recognition.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad sent out condolences through Twitter.
