Death toll from Nushki fuel tank fire rises to 19

QUETTA: The death toll from the Nushki fuel tank fire has reached 19 as victims succumbed to their serious burn injuries in a Karachi hospital over the last four days, officials said on Sunday.

On April 29, the Balochistan government had transferred 24 critically injured individuals to Liaquat National Hospital in Karachi via C-130 for specialized treatment. They had been severely burned in a fire that erupted from a fuel tank of a truck carrying smuggled Iranian petrol in Nushki town.

A driver was killed and over 60 others were injured when the fuel tank exploded during welding repairs. The driver had moved the truck to an open area away from the bus and truck stand to avoid harming the populated area of Nushki town.

A large number of people near the burning truck were injured when it exploded. All the injured were initially taken to Nushki Hospital and later transferred to the burn unit at Bolan Medical College Hospital in Quetta.

Officials confirmed that the injured transferred to Karachi had suffered severe burns, with 70 to 80 percent of their bodies badly burned. So far, 19 deaths have been confirmed in Karachi. Sixteen bodies have been returned to Nushki and handed over to the families, while three others are expected to arrive in Quetta on Monday.

Meanwhile, the families of the injured have complained that the hospital staff has not been providing adequate care to the victims of the Nushki incident, which they claim is causing further deaths.