At least 15 persons, including 10 children, were killed and more than 25 injured when a tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) collided with a car and the gas leakage fuelled an inferno engulfing the vehicle and nearby buildings in Mananwala area near Nankana Sahib on Wednesday morning. According to polices sources, the LPG tanker was going to Sheikhupura when it collided with the car coming from opposite site.
A massive fire erupted after a powerful explosion. Two rickshaws carrying children to school also caught fire, scorching at least 10 children to death on the spot and five other people died.
Shops in the surrounding area were also gutted while pedestrians were sprayed by petroleum. According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when the taker driver lost control of the vehicle while overtaking another vehicle near a U-turn. The rescue team shifted the dead bodies and injured to District Hospital Sheikhupura and district headquarters Nankana Sahib where five injured were stated to be in critical condition. Twelve seriously injured were sent to hospitals in Faisalabad and Lahore.
Some of those died in the incident were identified as Waleed, Hamza Hammad, Shazia Farooq, Shagufta and Amjad Ali. Rescue teams also recovered bodies from the vehicles. Fire fighters were also called in to extinguish the huge fire erupted after the explosion. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the accident and ordered an investigation into it. He also directed the authorities concerned to provide every possible medical treatment to the injured.