Islamabad, 8 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) – At least seven people, including women and children, were killed after a passenger van caught fire in central Pakistan when its liquefied petroleum gas cylinder exploded due to a leak, police said on Saturday.

“The dead include three children and two women,” said Rizwan Hasan, a spokesman for the rescue department.

The accident took place in the Sargodha district of Punjab.

Hasan said another 10 people with burn injuries were taken to nearby hospitals.

Pakistani authorities imposed a ban on the use of gas cylinders by public service vehicles and school vans due to accidents that have claimed dozens of lives over the years.

But violations of the rules regarding road safety measures are quite common in the country, as are road accidents. Pakistan suffers from a lack of adequate infrastructure, poorly maintained vehicles and careless driving.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, around 9,000 road accidents are reported every year, killing more than 4,000 people.

Photo: MIA archive