19 children die in van cylinder blast in Gujrat
Driver of the van managed to escape from the scene.
GURJAT (Dunya news) - At least 19 children were killed in a school van gas cylinder blast that took place early Saturday morning in Gujrat, a district in Pakistan s eastern province of Punjab, Dunya News reported.
The explosion also killed a teacher on board.
The incident took place near Mangowal at about 7:40 a.m. (local time) when a school van numbered SD 9076 was heading towards a private school in Gujrat.
There were an estimated 25 people on board and the students were aged between 8 and 12.
Sources with Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital said that some injured kids were critically wounded.
The blast caused a huge fire after completely destroying the vehicle, according to local reports.
Initial investigatation showed the blast was an accident caused by the gas cylinder of the van, said police.
Many vehicles in Pakistan are powered by compressed natural gas due to cheap price. However, because of the poor manufacturing quality of gas cylinders, gas cylinder blasts frequently occur in the country, forcing the government to consider the ban of the use of such devices on public transport vehicles
