13 perish in passenger van blaze in Nooriabad

KARACHI: In a horrific tragedy, at least 13 people were burnt to death and ten were injured after a Karachi-bound passenger van caught fire near the Lucky Cement Factory on Super Highway near Nooriabad in Jamshoro district on Saturday night.

The Karachi-bound van coming from Hyderabad was carrying 23 passengers, according to the Motorway police. The surviving ten are undergoing treatment for varying injuries at Nooriabad and Hyderabad hospitals. The hospital sources fear the number of causalities may rise as the condition of five out of the 10 is stated to be critical. The driver of the van and a child survived unscathed. The police said that the fire was so intense that most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition and their DNA samples were being taken to identify them.

Shortly after the incident, the Motorway Police, fire tender besides rescue organisation reached the accident site and shifted the seven surviving passengers to Nooriabad and Hyderabad hospitals. However, five of the passengers had managed to get out of the burning van before any help could reach them. They tried to help others caught up in the flames but could not reach them due to the intense blaze.

According to Investigation Officer Zafar Iqbal of the Noorabad Police Station, five more were injured were recovered by firefighters and Edhi volunteers from the burning van. "The condition of these five is stated to be critical as they received very serious burn injuries," he said. The huge fire had reduced the van to a total wreck and most of the deceased could not be recognised due to the severity of burns and DNA was being picked for their identification.

Nothing credible could be learnt immediately about the actual cause of the incident and the Motorway Police also denied any specific knowledge. However, the spokesperson said apparently, a bumper somehow breaking off from another vehicle, hit one of the tyre of the passenger van causing it to burst, following which the driver lost control of the vehicle,” Motorway Police spokesperson Turab Shah told The News. The passenger van veered off the road and was engulfed in a massive ball of fire as it landed on the side of the main road. The videos circulating on the social media show the passenger van engulfed in a massive blaze which reduced it to cinders. Later, the firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze. The motorway police is conducting investigations into the causes that led to the deadly incident.