17 Killed in Pakistan Bus Blast

VOA News
25 May 2013 (4:42AM)

An explosion on a school bus in eastern Pakistan Saturday has killed 16 children and one teacher.

A police officer in the city of Gujrat said the 17 victims burned to death when their bus caught fire in the blast. He said several other children were injured and hospitalized.

Earlier reports had said all the victims were children. They were en route to school when the accident took place.

The bus was powered by both natural gas and petroleum. Local police say the fire was caused by a spark from a short-circuit when the driver switched from one type of fuel to the other.

Gujrat is about 200 kilometers southeast of the capital, Islamabad.