17 killed in Pakistan road accident
No fewer than 17 people, including three children, burned to
death in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday when a gas cylinder exploded on a bus
after it collided with a truck, officials said.
The bus was carrying passengers to the city of Bannu when the
collision happened on a highway around 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Peshawar,
the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
"The gas cylinder installed in the bus leaked after the
accident and it caught fire," said Dil Nawaz Khan, a senior government
official in Karak city, where the accident happened.
"All 18 people on board were burnt and only one
passenger could survive. His position is also critical," he told AFP.
Hospital officials said six women and children were also
among the dead.
"We received 17 dead bodies including the bodies of
three children and as many women. Most of the dead bodies are badly mutilated
and could not be identified," Sarfraz Khan, a doctor at Karak's public
hospital, told AFP.
Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for fatal
traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless
driving.
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