Death toll from Pakistan oil tanker tragedy rises to 157

    Hospitals in Bahawalpur are struggling to cope with severely burnt victims of the oil tanker tragedy on Sunday, 25 June.

    Officials have said the death toll has risen to 157.

    One doctor has said that 50 severely burnt victims were being treated at one hospital alone.

    It is believed more than 118 people were injured in the explosion, which came as people gathered to collect leaking fuel after the tanker overturned.

    It has been speculated that a burst tyre led to the crash as the tanker negotiated a sharp bend on the highway.

    Many victims have been transported to Karachi and Lahore in an attempt to ease pressures on less-equipped hospitals in the local area of the incident.

    The driver of the vehicle survived and has been detained. This is for investigation purposes only and it has not been implied that the driver will be held responsible for the deaths that resulted from the blast.

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