ISLAMABAD: At least 12 people were killed and six others injured when an oil tanker collided with a passenger bus on a major highway near Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, officials said Saturday.
The accident occurred on the M9 motorway linking Karachi with Hyderabad in southern Sindh province.
Rescue services said four vehicles — an oil tanker, a passenger bus, a van, and a goods trailer — were involved in the collision.
Authorities gave conflicting accounts of the cause. Local police said the bus was travelling in the wrong direction, while motorway police said the tanker’s tyre had burst.
Fuel spilled across the road, complicating rescue efforts and forcing workers to manually cut through the wreckage over fears of ignition.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan, often blamed on poor vehicle maintenance and weak enforcement of traffic regulations.
