Ten die, more than 20 injured as LPG tanker hits car near Sheikhupura
The gas leakage fuelled an inferno engulfing the vehicle and nearby buildings.
SHEIKHUPURA (Web Desk) – At least ten people died and more than 20 were injured when a tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) crashed into a car and the gas leakage fuelled an inferno engulfing the vehicle and nearby buildings near Sheikhupura on Wednesday morning, Dunya News reported.
The accident happened at about 9:20 a.m. local time in Mananwala area of the Sheikhupura district located in the country’s eastern Punjab province.
Two other school rickshaws at the scene of accident also caught fire. Reportedly, some schoolchildren are also among the victims.
Some of those died in the incident have been identified as Waleed, Hamza Hammad, Shazia Farooq, Shagufta and Amjad Ali.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when the driver of the tanker lost control while overtaking a vehicle near a u-turn.
Rescue teams reached at the site to shift the injured to the hospital and recover bodies from the vehicles. Firefighters were also called in to extinguish the huge fire erupted after the explosion.
Those injured including women and school kids have been shifted to district headquarters hospital where several of them are said to be in critical condition.
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the accident and ordered an inquiry to determine the cause of the accident.
Deadly accidents are common on roads across Pakistan due to bad road infrastructure and rampant disregard of traffic laws.
Over 9,000 road accidents are reported to the police every year, killing on average around 5,000 people, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
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