Lahore -- Pakistan
Bus fireworks tragedy kills 40

2005 --A firecracker thrown by a celebrant at a wedding set a bus filled with guests on fire in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 40 people and injuring 12 others, police said.

The accident occurred in central Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

The firecracker exploded under the vehicle's fuel tank, setting it and a large amount of fireworks inside on fire, Amir Zulfikar, a senior police officer, said.

Forty bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the bus, he said.

At least 12 others were injured, Zulfikar said. More than 70 people were believed to have been on the crowded bus.

"It took seconds until the bus was engulfed by flames and people hardly had any chance to rescue anyone," he said.

Many bodies were burned beyond recognition, he said.

A survivor said the fireworks exploded with a big bang that sounded as if a bomb had gone off.

"It was smoke and dust everywhere after the explosion," said Naseem Khan, who jumped out of a broken window in the bus.

"Everyone was crying for help," Khan said from a hospital bed where he was being treated for burns and cuts to his chest and arm.

Deaths from fireworks accidents are common in Pakistan and often occur at makeshift factories with poor safety conditions for storing and handling the explosive materials.

 

Lahore
30 killed
Fireworks explode on bus

--At least 30 passengers returning from a wedding party in the Pakistani city of Lahore were killed when fireworks being carried on their crowded bus exploded, police said.

"Thirty people have been killed but we fear the death toll may rise," Amir Zulfiqar, a senior police officer, told reporters at the scene of accident, adding that 19 people were injured.

"We think the blast was caused by fireworks going off in the bus," he said.

Local residents said the explosion occurred just after a young boy was seen throwing firecrackers out of a rear window of the bus.

Rescue workers and police faced delays in reaching the scene of the accident in the congested Ghazi Abad neighbourhood of the city due to traffic jams.

But once there, they began removing badly charred bodies from the burnt out wreckage of the bus, witnesses said.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Chaudhry Pervez Illahi, has ordered an investigation into accident, an official from his secretariat told AFP.

 

Lahore
Wedding bus blast kills 38

A firecracker thrown by a celebrant at a wedding set a bus filled with guests on fire in eastern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 38 people and injuring 12 others.The firecracker exploded under the vehicle's fuel tank, setting it and a large amount of fireworks inside on fire in central Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, said Amir Zulfikar, a senior police officer.

Thirty-eight bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the bus.

At least 12 others were injured. More than 70 people were believed to have been on the crowded bus.

"It took seconds until the bus was engulfed by flames and people hardly had any chance to rescue anyone," he said. Many bodies were burned beyond recognition, he said.

A survivor said the fireworks exploded with a big bang that sounded as if a bomb had gone off.

"It was smoke and dust everywhere after the explosion," said Naseem Khan, who jumped out of a broken window in the bus.

"Everyone was crying for help," Khan said from a hospital bed where he was being treated for burns and cuts to his chest and arm.

Deaths from fireworks accidents are common in Pakistan and often occur at makeshift factories with poor safety conditions for storing and handling the explosive materials.

Pakistani television said that about 50 people were feared dead, but police could not confirm it.

Local residents said the explosion occurred just after a young boy was seen throwing firecrackers out of a rear window of the bus.

"I saw a boy throwing a firecracker from the window of the bus and some sparks from it dropped inside the bus. Then there was an explosion and fire," Ashiq Ali, 33, a local resident said.

"I saw three to four young boys jumping out of the burning bus from the rear door," he added.

Rescue workers and police faced delays in reaching the scene of the accident in the congested Ghazi Abad neighbourhood of the city due to traffic jams.

But once there, they began removing badly charred bodies from the burnt out wreckage of the bus, witnesses said.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Chaudhry Pervez Illahi, has ordered an investigation into accident.

Despite being prohibited, fireworks and firecrackers are often set off at weddings in Pakistan.

Many people have been killed in the past while making or storing fireworks in congested residential areas.

 

Lahore
40 wedding guests burnt alive

More than 40 members of a marriage party, including women and children, were burnt alive Sunday when fireworks exploded in their bus on the way back to the groom’s house in the North Cantt police precincts.

The police said 13 others, most of them children, suffered serious burn injuries. The fire burnt the bus to ashes within no time when its petrol tank caught fire, the police added.

Two of the injured, Noorullah and Zeshan, aged 12, said some boys in the back seats threw fireworks out of the bus, but some of them returned back into the bus due to air pressure and fell on a bag full of fireworks. “All of a sudden, crackers went off, fire broke out and plumes of smoke occupied the bus.

The passengers started shouting and many of them passed out. Only a few could save themselves by jumping out of the windows,” they said, adding that they themselves saved their lives this way.

Another eyewitness said a woman threw her eight-month-old child out of the window to save his life, but unfortunately she herself couldn’t make it.

The police declared that it was an accident caused by mishandling of fireworks or negligence by a smoker.

According to the doctors, out of the 13 injured, 9 were burnt 40 percent and stood chances of survival, while the other 4 were in a critical condition being burnt more than 40 percent.

It was a marriage procession of bridegroom Zaheer, resident of St No 24, Munir Basti, Ghaziabad, returning from Gulshan-e-Ravi. The accident took place not far from the house of the groom when some members of the procession started lighting fireworks, perhaps out of jubilation usual, rather traditional, with departing and returning wedding processions. The locals rushed to the scene and started rescue work. The fire brigade, Rescue 1122, Edhi ambulances, police and armed forces personnel joined them after 45 minutes of the accident and rushed the injured to different hospitals. The delay was reportedly caused by the closure of the nearby Mughalpura railway crossing. SSP Amir Zulfiqar Khan led the rescue work. The groom and bride, Zeba Naz, are safe.

The reporters saw burnt bodies being removed from the bus. Most of the bodies were completely charred and identification was next to impossible. Some of the bodies were taken out in parts.

It is learnt that 25 members of the groom’s family died in the mishap. Police sealed off the street to the groom’s house after looting was reported there while surviving family members and relatives were busy rescuing and mourning.

Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed, IT Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, DCO Khalid Sultan and many provincial assembly members visited hospitals to inquire after the injured.

The IT minister, on behalf of the Punjab government, announced imposing a ban on manufacturing as well as supply of all kinds of fireworks, while the health minister announced free treatment of the injured.

SSP Amir Zufiqar Khan, expressing his grief over the incident, said many such accidents had taken place due to mishandling of fireworks, but “the people do not refrain from violating the laws”. Police had launched an operation against the manufactures and suppliers of fireworks, arresting many of them, he said, while admitting that the police could not eradicate the menace despite all its efforts. “The use of fireworks is suicidal, the people must be warned.”

The government already has imposed section 144, prohibiting the use of fireworks.