At least 140 killed, 100 injured in Bahawalpur oil tanker fire incident
Pakistanis woke up to a tragic morning on 29th Ramadan, watching heart-wrenching stories of the Bahawalpur oil tanker fire that killed over 140 people on Sunday.
The tragedy that happened just a day before Pakistan is set to celebrate Eid ul Fit has sent shock waves across the country.
At least 140 people were burnt alive and dozens injured when an oil tanker caught fire and exploded near Bahawalpur where a large number of people had gathered to collect petrol from the overturned tanker, rescue services said.
The tanker carrying 40,000 liters of fuel overturned after trying to make a sharp turn while travelling from Karachi to Lahore on the main highway.
It is reported to have exploded after fuel leaking from its damaged container caught fire.
It’s reported that some people were smoking at the site which resulted in the fire of the tanker.
A doctor in Ahmedpur East said more than 100 people had been brought to the local hospital with more than 80 percent burns before they were rushed to larger hospitals in Multan and Bahawalpur.
At least 90 injured people were moved to Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital and other health facilities.
DNA test would be needed to identify the bodies
Rana Sanaullah, Punjab’s law minister, told private ARY television that DNA tests were being used to identify the dead.
According to a preliminary report, more than 70 people have been shifted to Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur which is an hour drive away from the site of the incident.
Army helicopters sent for evacuation of the injured
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed grief on the loss of lives and ordered provision of assistance to civil administration.
Director General Intra-Services Public Relations took to Twitter and confirmed that Army helicopters were being sent for evacuation of casualties.
Army Aviation helicopters sent for evacuation of casualties to hospitals / burn centres. Hospitals placed on high alert. (2 of 2).
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) June 25, 2017
The helicopters reached the site and started rescue operation to shift the severely injured to Multan and other cities for proper treatment.
Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif enforces medical emergency
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also announced to provide helicopters for the rescue operation. “Wherever medical facilities are available patients should be shifted there.”
“Medical emergency has been enforced throughout the district in the hospitals and all doctors have been called back from their holidays,” Deputy Commissioner Rana Muhammad Saleem Afzal said.
PM Nawaz cuts short London trip after Bahawalpur tanker tragedy
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is returning to the country from London following a massive oil tanker inferno that killed at least 140 people in Punjab’s Bahawalpur on Sunday.
PM Nawaz, who reached London on Saturday from Saudi Arabia, offered Eid prayers with his sons – Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz – in the Britain’s capital city. Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana was also accompanying the prime minister.