At least 120 people were killed and over 100 others injured in an oil tanker fire that broke out in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province on Sunday morning, said hospital sources.
Dr. Aurangzeb, Medical Superintendent of Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur, a district in Punjab where the incident happened, confirmed that 120 bodies and over 100 injured people have been received by different hospitals in the district.
The incident happened early Sunday morning when large crowds of people gathered at a capsized oil tanker site to collect the spilled out oil on a highway in Ahmad Pur Shaqia, a sub district under Bahawalpur.
The oil tanker turned turtle due to burst tires, local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said local police.
Local media reports speculated that the fire could have been caused by the cigarette butts thrown on the ground by the people gathering at the site.
Three fire engines have been dispatched to the site following the report of the oil tanker fire, said local fire department officials, adding that the fire has been put off.
A total of 75 motorbikes and six vehicles were destroyed in the fire, said local police.
