59 killed in bus-tanker crash

Many bodies burned beyond recognition; authorities fear the death toll could rise

At least 59 people were killed when their bus crashed into an oil tanker, igniting a fierce blaze in southern Pakistan early on Sunday, local officials said.

It was the second crash involving major loss of life in Sindh province in less than three months.

Authorities fear the death toll could rise, since all the bodies were burned beyond recognition. They are planning DNA tests for identification.

Doctor Semi Jamali at Karachi's Jinnah hospital said the bodies of at least six children were clinging onto women who may have been their mothers, adding it was impossible to separate the remains.

'So badly burned'

The overloaded bus, carrying more than 60 passengers, was en route to the town of Shikarpur from the southern port city of Karachi when the collision occurred.

Initial reports indicated the oil tanker was on the wrong side of the road along a dilapidated stretch of highway, police said.

Gul Hassan, a resident of Karachi, said he lost nine relatives including the 80-year-old head of the family and a 2-year-old child.

The dead also included two women and another child, Hassan said. "They were traveling in the same bus. I cannot recognize any of them," he said.

Senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwaar said, "We are trying to ascertain if the driver of the oil tanker was solely at fault or whether the bus driver also showed negligence".

Another senior police official, Aamir Shiekh, said an investigation had been launched but it appeared the poor condition of the single-track road also contributed to the accident.

A few passengers escaped unhurt after they managed to jump out of the bus windows.

Appalling record

Pakistan has an appalling record for fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Fifty seven people, including 18 children, were killed in November when a bus collided with a coal truck in Sindh near the town of Khairpur which is about 450 kilometers north of Karachi.

Police blamed the poor road condition and the lack of warning signs and said they would investigate the government department responsible - the first time such an investigation had been launched in the country.

In April, a bus smashed into a tractor-trailer in a high-speed collision in Sindh, killing 42 people.

In March 2014 a crash between two buses and a gas tanker left 35 dead, with many burned alive when the fuel ignited.

AFP - Xinhua

Pakistani volunteers search for bodies inside a burnt out passenger bus after it collided with an oil tanker along the Super Highway near Karachi early on Sunday. At least 59 people were killed when an oil tanker crashed into a passenger bus, igniting a fierce blaze, police said. Asif Hassan / Agence France-Presse