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Deadly oil tanker explosion mars Eid festival in Pakistan

Special prayers offered for the 150 dead at the church near where the tragedy took place
Deadly oil tanker explosion mars Eid festival in Pakistan
An army helicopter airlifts critically injured people from Ahmedpur Sharkia to Nishtar Hospital, Multan on June 25. (Photo courtesy ISPR, media wing of Pakistan army)
Published: June 26, 2017 09:30 AM GMT
Updated: June 26, 2017 09:36 AM GMT

An oil tanker explosion that killed some 150 people has cast a shadow over annual Eid celebrations in Pakistan.

The explosion took place June 25 morning after a speeding oil tanker carrying 40,000 liters of oil overturned in Ahmedpur Sharkia town of Bahawalpur district in Punjab province.

According to officials and eyewitnesses, crowds from a nearby village scrambled to collect fuel from the leaking tanker, ignoring repeated warnings to stay clear.

"Hundreds of villagers including children rushed to the site carrying buckets, bottles and other containers to collect fuel," said Raja Riffat, a regional police officer, told media persons.

"An hour later, the tanker suddenly exploded in a huge fireball. Most of the dead were charred beyond recognition," he said adding that 142 people died in the explosion.

Some local news channels put the death toll at 150.

Special prayers were offered for the victims and their families June 26 at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Bahawalpur, 50 kilometers from the disaster site.

Father Iftikhar Moon, the parish priest, and Shakeel Marcus Khokhar a Christian member of the Punjab legislative assembly plan to visit the injured at Bahawal Victoria Hospital June 27. 

"We wanted to meet them today but authorities are busy arranging for the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. I hope the tragedy opens the eyes of officials. Many died simply because there is no burns unit in Bahawal Victoria Hospital. The government should open such facilities in smaller cities as well," Father Moon told ucanews.com.

"Our hearts are torn with grief," Father Moon said, pointing out that Eid al-Fitr, the religious festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was to be a joyous occasion.

"You can't blame villagers for collecting the spilled oil. Poverty and illiteracy are forcing people to fight for their survival every day. They were trying to support their households," he said.

Punjab government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said 20 children were among the dead.

Mobile phone images aired by TV channels showed people filling their bottles and containers with fuel moments before the explosion.

"According to initial reports, somebody tried to light a cigarette," said Jam Sajjad Hussain a rescue worker.

Pakistan Army troops reached the site and airlifted the critically injured to hospitals in nearby cities of Multan and Bahawalpur.

"In the wake of the Ahmadpur Sharqia tragic accident Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has decided to celebrate Eid with simplicity," said a statement from his office.

The tragedy took place in the backdrop of a fresh wave of terrorist attacks in the country.

At least 70 people mostly those belonging to the Shia Muslim minority community were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Parachinar town of Kurram tribal agency bordering Afghanistan on June 24. 

Hours before that, a car bomb went off in the southwestern city of Quetta, leaving 15 people dead.

In a third attack later in the evening of the same day, four policemen were shot to death while breaking their fast on the last day of Ramadan, at a hotel in Karachi.

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