Pakistan Tanker, Bus Crash Kills 62

VOA News
January 11, 2015 3:28 PM

Authorities in Pakistan say an oil tanker apparently speeding on the wrong side of a road struck a passenger bus head-on early Sunday, killing at least 62 people near the southern port city of Karachi.

A senior police official said the collision occurred along a stretch of bad road, engulfing both vehicles in flames. The victims included women and children, most of them burnt beyond recognition. Officials say the death toll could rise.

Authorities say a few people escaped the inferno by jumping out of bus windows.

Pakistan is notorious for fatal traffic accidents, with many of them attributed to poor roads, reckless driving and poorly maintained vehicles.

Television footage Sunday showed live scenes of the crash site with rescue workers evacuating bodies and survivors from the wreckage.