Flood victims burn alive in Pakistan bus fire

At least 17 flood-affected people have died of burns in southern Pakistan when the bus they were travelling caught fire as they were returning home, officials said.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night at the M-9 motorway connecting the port city of Karachi with Hyderabad and Jamshoro cities of Sindh province.

"So far, 17 passengers have died in the accident, 10 were injured who were treated by rescue teams," Siraj Qasim Soomro, parliamentary health secretary told reporters.

Around 35 people were travelling on the bus.

"Those who were travelling in the bus were flood-affected people who had relocated somewhere off the motorway, and they were heading back home in Dadu district," Jamshoro District Commissioner Asif Jameel told the Reuters news agency.

They were using private transport for the purpose, Jameel added.

It was not immediately clear as to what caused the fire, but police said that apparently, the fire erupted at the rear portion of the bus then engulfed the entire bus.

Some passengers jumped out of the bus to escape the fire.

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Deadly roads

Dadu district is among the worst flood-hit districts of the Sindh province.

In August 20 people were killed in a fiery crash at a motorway in Multan Southern Punjab when it collided with an oil tanker.

Deadly road accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly due to speeding, poor road infrastructure and the use of unfit vehicles.

In 2017, an oil tanker overturned and caught fire in the region, killing more than 100 people.

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