6 killed in LPG tanker explosion in SW Pakistan

Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-24 13:39:55|Editor: huaxia

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded late on Sunday night in Pakistan's southwest provincial capital of Quetta, leaving six people killed and three others seriously wounded, local media reported.

According to the reports, the incident took place when a group of smugglers was trying to hide packs of gutka (a banned drug made of tobacco, betel nut and others) in special portions made in the tanker at a warehouse near Haji Camp area on the outskirts of Quetta in the country's Balochistan province.

The fire burnt all eight people present at the warehouse, leading to the death of five of them.

Rescue teams, police and security forces rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and the injured to a hospital. One of the rescue personnel was dead during rescue work after he was trapped in the fire, the reports said.

Rescuers said that the death toll might further rise because all of the three injured are in critical condition due to severe burn injuries.

Local police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident to arrest other persons involved in the smuggling network.

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