AT least 140 people were killed and over 120 others injured in an oil tanker fire that happened in the eastern Punjab province of Pakistan on Sunday morning, said a local politician.
When the fire subsided, "we saw bodies everywhere, so many were just skeletons".
Flames and plumes of large smoke could be seen from a distance as firefighters battled the blaze for two hours. Local officials said more than 100 were wounded.
Punjab provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told private ARY television that DNA tests were being used to identify the dead.
The driver of the tanker survived the accident and had been taken into police custody, said Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan.
The injured are likely to be shifted to Nishtar Hospital in Multan as facilities close to the accident site are not equipped enough to treat patients with critical burn injuries. The toll may increase as numerous injured are said to be in critical condition, the police added.
"Someone should tell me about my beloved sons, where are they?"
According to Akhtar, the explosion came as villagers began to gather around the truck in an attempt to collect oil in containers.
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The air force sent a C-130 aircraft to help army helicopters evacuate the wounded, officials said. The nearest burn center is believed to be more than 150 kilometers away.
Dozens of people are being treated in hospitals; several people were airlifted by helicopter.
Over 100 people have died and another 100 injured after an overturned oil tanker caught fire.
Details were unclear but some witnesses suggested the tanker had suffered a burst tyre, said regional police chief Raja Riffat.
Pakistan's Geo TV showed a few eyewitnesses saying that some people were smoking at the scene of the accident, which could have started the fire. "CM also sought report of the incident and ordered to hold inquiry of the incident", the statement said.
Pakistani media reports that the oil tanker, which was moving at a very high speed, skidded off the highway and overturned. "Children and women are among the injured".
Ghafoor tweeted: "COAS expresses grief on losses in oil tanker incident".
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