(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Pakistani hospitals yesterday struggled to treat scores of severely burned victims of a fuel tanker explosion that killed at least 156 people.
The disaster was one of several deadly events to mar the run-up to yesterday's Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
At least 65 people were killed in bombings in two cities on Friday claimed by Islamist militants including the Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
A burst tyre apparently caused the speeding fuel tanker to overturn on a sharp bend on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur, provincial spokesman Malik Mohamed Ahmed Khan said.
'Rehabilitation and treatment of the victims is our top priority, Khan said.
Hospitals are also arranging DNA testing to identify the many bodies that were charred beyond recognition.
At least 20 children are among the dead.
Many of the burn victims have been moved the larger cities of Karachi and Lahore.
Governments hospital are often-underequipped and the ones in Bahawalpur and nearby Multan were set up only to handle small numbers, Khan said.
The oil tanker driver, who survived, has been detained to assist in an investigation, but early reports do not indicate human error, Khan said.
He said a separate investigation was underway to see why police did not disperse the crowds of people who gathered to collect fuel.
'Police did try but we are looking into what went wrong, he said.
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