OGRA’s preliminary probe exonerates tank lorry’s driver

Another inquiry faults Motorway police for the tragedy as death toll goes up to 165

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Wednesday received the preliminary investigation report regarding Sunday’s deadly oil tanker blaze near Bahawalpur that has so far claimed 165 while many more are still fighting for their lives in hospitals.

The tanker carrying 40,000 litres of fuel overturned on a highway while travelling from Karachi to Lahore. The driver lost control when the vehicle blew a tyre. A large crowd of people gathered, many to collect fuel in containers.

According to an official of Ogra, the primary report submitted by the Shell Petroleum disclosed that it was not the fault of the tank lorry as it was travelling at a speed of 35 kilometres per hour as found out from the tracker report. The speed was within the prescribed limit.

“As per our initial haulier investigation, a passenger bus after overtaking the tank lorry applied harsh breaks in front of the tank lorry. To avoid collision from behind, the driver moved the tank lorry to left hand side of the road on the soft shoulder which resulted in rollover of the tank lorry”, the company revealed in its report.



However, the Ogra spokesperson said an independent inquiry team had been dispatched soon after the incident. The Ogra team would submit its finding today (Thursday).

Ogra’s independent team would investigate if the oil tanker had followed all safety measures laid down by the regulator for transportation of petroleum products within the country. In case of any violation, Ogra will take action against the company under the rules and regulations, the spokesperson added.

The company stated in its report that not realising the huge safety risk involved, people from the nearby village gathered to collect the spilled oil in buckets and containers. Despite utmost effort by local traffic authorities to manage the incident, a chaos ensued which resulted in such a grave tragedy.

Meanwhile, an initial investigation report has also been sent to Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.



According to the report, the incident was the result of Motorway police’s negligence. At the time of the incident, the police officials were changing shift and had left their positions before their relievers took over.

The report says the incident would not have taken place had the Motorway police cordoned off the area in time. The local SHO also reached the scene an hour late. According to the report, the assistant commissioner of Ahmedpur East had also reached the site late.

Death toll goes up

The death toll from the catastrophic tragedy has reached 165, the in-charge of Victoria Hospital’s emergency ward, Dr Amir Bukhari, told The Express Tribune.

Medical Superintendent Dr Tahira said that initially 130 casualties had been brought to the facility. Of which 30 had been airlifted to Lahore and Faisalabad in C130 aircraft, while 60 had been ferried to Multan.

More than 60 people were shifted out of Multan’s Nishtar Hospital’s burn unit out of which 22 succumbed to their injuries.

PM, COAS visit

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also visited the victims and their families on the first day of Eid (Monday).

He said the government would conduct an inquiry into the deadly inferno. The premier made the announcement while speaking at the site of the incident after he had visited the victims at hospital.

Sharif said an inquiry was imperative to avoid such tragic incidents in the future, adding that the government would look into the condition of the oil tanker being used by its company.

The prime minister was given a detailed briefing about the tragedy on his arrival at the hospital, after which he inquired after the patients’ health.

The army chief also visited the injured at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital to convey support in their treatment.

According to the ISPR, General Qamar was apprised of the treatment being received by the victims by the staff. He lauded the efforts made by the civil administration, Motorway police and Punjab police, locals and the hospital staff to effectively handle the situation.

Gen Qamar said crisis management was a joint national responsibility, and Pakistan Army had joined hands with the civil administration in this regard. He said there was a need to launch a national awareness campaign to avoid unfortunate incidents such as this in the future.