Oil tanker flips over in Rahim Yar Khan

Police stop people from collecting fuel

MULTAN: In a recent development, another oil tanker flipped over in Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday.

A police official said the accident occurred after the fuel-laden vehicle was speeding near Tarinda Muhammad Panah. Soon after the incident, people rushed to the scene and began siphoning fuel from the tanker.



However, the police and rescue officials reached the spot and cordoned off the site of the accident. He said, “At least 50,000 liters of fuel is reported to have spilled on the road.” He added, “No loss of life or injury has been reported so far in the incident.”



Earlier on June 25, 2017, a harrowing tragedy struck Punjab when an overturned oil tanker exploded in a huge fireball on the outskirts of Bahawalpur, killing more than 200 people and injuring scores more.

The disaster occurred on a stretch of highway cutting through the village of Ramzanpur Joya as crowds scrambled to collect fuel from the tanker before it ignited, ignoring warnings to stay clear.

The speeding tanker carrying 40,000 litres of fuel overturned on a main 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.



The charred wreckage of dozens of motorcycles and cars was scattered on the highway, along with kitchen utensils, pots, water coolers, jerry cans and buckets which victims had brought to collect
the petrol.

Later, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) held a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell responsible for the tanker explosion.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2017.