Six burnt to death in Hasan Abdal

A stationary van burst into flames after being hit by truck

ISLAMABAD: At least six people died and four others were injured, when a passenger van burst into flames after hitting a gas pipeline in Hasan Abdal on Sunday.

The deadly crash came just a month after nearly 200 people had been burnt to death as they rushed to collect spilled fuel from an overturned oil tanker in Bahawalpur. It later exploded, burning everybody on and around the spot.

Police said the accident occurred when a Peshawar-bound truck crashed into the stationary Toyota Hiace van near Cadet College Hasan Abdal at about 05:55am.

“The van was parked at the roadside,” police officials said, adding, “Both the truck and the van hit the main gas pipeline and caught fire at the moment of impact.”

The cause of the fire was likely to be gas leakage from the damaged pipeline, they said.



“Five people sitting in the van and the truck driver have been burnt to death, while his co-driver (conductor) identified as Mashooq Ali (32) survived with serious injuries and shifted to Pims,” said National Highway and Motorway Police (NH&MP) spokesperson Inspector Raja Aftab Aslam.

According to details, the truck driver in an effort to avoid collision with a rashly-driven vehicle coming from the opposite direction crashed into the stationary van.

The bodies had been charred beyond recognition. Their samples had been taken for DNA test to identify them.

Earlier, the police reached the site and prompted the SNGP authorities to discontinue gas supply in a bid to control the fire.