KARACHI – At least 33 people, including women and children, were killed and 15 injured when a Sukkur-bound passenger bus rammed into an oil tanker in the wee hours of Sunday in Nooriabad located 94km from Karachi, rescue sources told Pakistan Today.
The tanker was moving when the bus crashed into it due to the negligence of the bus driver and, resultantly, both the vehicles caught fire and were completely gutted.
Some passengers managed to climb out of the bus after breaking windowpanes with the help of the locals because the hydraulic door system had stopped functioning and the smoke was spreading through the bus.
One of the injured people, Sharif Hussain who had boarded the bus in Hyderabad, said that there were 45 to 50 passengers in the bus. “After the crash, the bus caught fire, forcing the passengers to break the windows to climb out. Most bodies were completely charred.
The incident was horrific. The passengers trapped inside the bus kept screaming for help.” Jamshoro District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Muhammad Farooq said that the incident took place near Hyderabad on the Super Highway when a speeding bus hit an oil tanker that was carrying around 40,000 litres oil.
“As a result, oil rapidly spilled out of the tanker and both the vehicles caught fire, burning to death at least 33 passengers, whereas 15 received burn injuries. Most bodies were burnt beyond recognition.” Quoting a passenger, the DPO said that the incident took place owing to the negligence of the bus driver since he looked exhausted.
The Motorway police, fire fighters and rescue teams rushed to the spot to start rescue efforts, for which the body of the bus had to be cut through to bring out the bodies trapped inside the vehicle. The rescue operation took around three hours to complete.
