Pakistan oil tanker fire: Death toll rises to 198; six officials suspended for negligence

Lahore: The death toll in Pakistan’s oil tanker inferno rose to 198 on Sunday as four more persons, injured in the country’s one of the worst fire accidents, succumbed, officials said. The four victims died during the last 24 hours, an official said. Six officials including a DSP-level officer were suspended on Friday for negligence that led to the incident. [caption id=“attachment_3768835” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Local residents examine burnt motorcycles at the site of the tanker fire. AP[/caption] The death toll in Ahmadpur Sharqia oil tanker fire incident has risen to 198, Radio Pakistan reported. The death toll may go up further as most of the injured have 60 to 100 percent burns, the official said. At least 120 people including women and children were killed on the spot and 140 injured last week, a day before Eid, when they rushed to collect leaking fuel from the crashed oil tanker in Bahawalpur, some 400 kilometres from Lahore. The tanker caught fire after the explosion and some 50,000 litres of petrol spilled from the vehicle. The tanker, coming from Karachi to Lahore, veered off the road when the driver lost control after one of its tyres burst. The tanker exploded after someone lit a cigarette. Meanwhile, according to motorway police spokesman Imran Shah, six officials have been suspended on the recommendation of the departmental inquiry committee probing into the incident on the basis of technical data. Strict punishment has been recommended against the suspended officers, the official added. Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also constituted a four-member inquiry committee to investigate the Bahawalpur tragedy.