Bahawalpur: The death toll of the oil tanker explosion has risen to 190, hospital and government officials said Friday as 16 more people succumbed to their injuries.
The tanker overturned early Sunday on a main highway from Karachi to Lahore while carrying some 40,000 liters of fuel.
It exploded minutes later as crowds from a nearby village gathered to collect the fuel, regardless of the warning by the motorway police and the truck driver to stay away from the overturned tanker.
“The death toll from the tanker fire incident is now 190 after expiry of more injured people,” Tahira Parveen, medical superintendent of Bahawalpur Victoria hospital.
A senior local administration official confirmed the toll.
Motorway police spokesman Imran Shah has said that a government inquiry into the incident had found at least five police officials guilty of hiding information.
The tragedy marked a depressing start to Eid, the celebrations closing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
