BAHAWALPUR: The bodies of as many as 125 victims of Bahawalpur oil tanker fire, who, were laid to rest in Nazirabad graveyard, in Ramzan Joiya village, Ahmed Pur East, on Tuesday evening.
A large number of locals including relatives of the deceased offered combined funeral prayers after the125 bodies were brought to Ramzan Joiya village from Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH). The funeral prayers were held at a cotton factory close to the grave site.
Around 1,000 security personnel were deployed at the site of prayers, to prevent any untoward incident.
Earlier, BVH emergency services director, Amir Bukhari, informed that bodies of 24 victims had been handed over to the families of the deceased after successful identification.He added that a total of 125 bodies could not be identified.
“The DNA samples of the remaining bodies have been taken to help in their identification and the process could take 9-10 days,” Bukhari said.
The death toll from the tragic incident on Tuesday reached 162 after another critically injured succumbed to his wounds.
As per reports from health sources, 126 people died on the spot, while another 32 passed away while being under treatment within two days after the incident took place on Sunday morning.
Moreover, a case was also lodged against the driver, owner and manager of the oil tanker.
Following the registration of the case at Saddar police station, the driver surrendered himself to the police after which he was taken to an undisclosed location for questioning. The driver was identified as Gul Mohammad. On Monday, the premier also announced an in-depth inquiry into the incident while also announcing a policy decision to provide employment opportunities for the injured as well as family members of the deceased. The announcement was made at a press conference held by the prime minister during a visit to the site of the accident. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was also accompanying the premier.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa also paid a visit to the injured at Nishtar Hospital, Multan on Monday.
