Toll in grisly Jamshoro bus fire goes up to 18

SUKKUR: The death toll in the horrific bus fire incident in Jamshoro's Nooriabad has gone up to 18.

Late Wednesday, it had been reported that 16 flood-affected people burned to death and 40 others received serious burn injuries when a Khairpur Nathan Shah-bound coach they were travelling in from Karachi caught fire.

Jamshoro SSP Javed Baloch had said that due to a technical fault in the air-conditioning system, a fire erupted in the coach on M-9 Motorway, Nooriabad, Jamshoro. He had said that fire brigade and rescue teams reached the scene after receiving information and carried out a fire extinguishing and rescue operation.

DSP Wajid Thahim had said that bodies, including five of children, had been recovered from the coach. The injured had been shifted to Trauma Centre, Nooriabad, LUMS and Civil Hospital, Hyderabad. He had said the death toll might increase as several passengers had received critical burn injuries.

He said the coach was packed with flood-affected people of Khairpur Nathan Shah, who were returning from Karachi to their village Nazar Muhammad Mugheri. He said mostly women and children were travelling in the coach and there were only five men in it. He said a total of 55 flood victims were travelling in the coach and almost all of them belonged to Rais Qurban Mugheri community. They had left their houses for Karachi after floodwaters hit their villages.

Deputy Commissioner Asif Jamil said fire-fighters had extinguished the fire and an emergency had been declared in LUMS, Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, and other hospitals in the area.