One person was killed and over 50 people were injured when an oil tanker caught fire and exploded in Balochistan’s Noshki district on Monday.
According to Noshki Deputy Commissioner Amjad Soomro, the tanker was parked at a truck depot when it caught fire. As firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, the tanker exploded, leaving several personnel critically injured.
Among the injured were four police officers who had been helping to evacuate nearby citizens. Many victims sustained severe burns, with some suffering burns over 70 to 80 percent of their bodies. Those with the most serious injuries are being airlifted to Quetta for further treatment.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind stated that over 50 people suffered burns in the incident. “The fire was so intense it engulfed the fire brigade vehicle at the scene,” he said.
He added that the injured were being transported to the Civil Hospital and Bolan Medical College (BMC) after receiving initial first aid. A medical emergency has been declared at local hospitals.
Calling the explosion "unfortunate," Rind confirmed that an investigation is underway.
Oil tanker explosions are often caused by high-impact collisions, but other factors such as defective fuel tanks, overloaded vehicles, or faulty exhaust systems can also lead to such disasters. Given the highly flammable nature of the materials they carry, tanker-related accidents are not uncommon.
In a similar incident last year, one man was killed and five others injured when an oil tanker exploded in Karachi’s Shireen Jinnah Colony. Authorities said the explosion occurred while workers were welding underneath an empty tanker that still contained residual gas.
One of Pakistan’s deadliest tanker accidents occurred in 2017 when a fuel tanker carrying 40,000 litres overturned on the Karachi-Lahore highway. As villagers gathered to collect the leaking fuel, a suspected cigarette ignited a massive fire, killing 212 people.