Hyderabad: At least ten people, mostly women, burnt to death after a CNG cylinder blast set a passenger van on fire following a crash late on Sunday night.
The minivan carrying 19 passengers on board was on its way to Hyderabad from Karachi when a burst tyre caused it to crash near Nooriabad, 75 kilometers from the coastal metropolis.
A source while talking to Samaa News said “The jam-packed van rolled off the road after a rear tyre blew out. The vehicle went up in flames as soon as it came to rest in a ditch on the side of Superhighway. That’s when a loud explosion was heard,”
According to sources, rescuers had to cut through the mangled wreckage of the van to extract the casualties, which were later rushed to Abassi Shaheed and Baqai Hospitals in Karachi.
According to hospital sources “Most of the fatalities were caused by third degree burns and inhalation of poisonous fumes. So intense was the fire that it left some bodies charred beyond recognition,”
Among the injured was also 4-month-old baby girl, who succumbed to her wounds in Baqai Hospital.
“Seven of the injured, who were given first aid at Baqai Hospital near toll plaza on Superhighway, were later transferred to Abassi Shaheed Hospital. They are said not to have sustained serious injuries,” sources said, adding,”Most of the survivors saved their lives by jumping out of the windows of the burning van.”
Earlier, it was suspected that the van caught the deadly fire after the impact of the accident led to one or more of the four CNG tanks — installed in the rear of the ill-fated vehicle– to explode, but investigators later found out that all of them intact.
“Only a thorough examination by the experts will lead us to the cause of the blast and subsequent fire that consumed ten lives,” a police official told.
The dead bodies have been moved to the morgue of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).
“The unrecognizably burnt bodies will be handed over to the families after DNA tests. Relatives are requested to leave their blood samples with the Medicolegal Department of JPMC. Our staff will start collecting samples at 10:00 AM tomorrow (Monday) morning,” JPMC’s Medicolegal officer (MLO) Raja Memon told media
DNA Tests
The samples collected from the deceased and their next of kin would be then sent to a government laboratory in the federal capital Islamabad, he added.
“The diagnosticians will then match the DNA samples to identify the victims,” the MLO said adding,” Only after that the dead bodies will be released to their families.”
MQM leader Altaf Hussain Expresses Grief
Giving voice to his grief over the tragic loss of lives in the accident, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain, in a statement issued from London, sympathized with the bereaved families.
“My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones in the blazing accident. It is my earnest appeal to the transporters and the owners to throw the CNG tanks out of their vehicles and revert to using liquid fuels like diesel and petrol for the passengers and own safety respectively,” Hussain said.
Hussain also urged the government to leave no unfit CNG-run vehicle plying on the roads to save precious lives.
“Travelers should avoid boarding on the vehicles running on compressed natural gas. More and more accidents, involving gas-driven four or more wheelers, are being reported these days. Something must be done about it,” the MQM leader said.
PPP top brass aggrieved, Memon vows action against culprits
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, and other Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders including Faryal Talpur and Sharjeel Memon in their separate condolence messages prayed for the eternal peace of the victims.
“This tragic mishap has deeply saddened the PPP leadership deeply. I will see to it that the owner and the driver of the van are taken to the task,” Information minister Sindh Sharjeel Memon told Samaa.
Memon also vowed to have a special committee dig into the accident and unearth the cause before long.
