40 burnt to death in wedding bus blaze
Bureau Report

LAHORE—At least forty persons died on the spot and up to 40 received burn injuries at North cantt Lahore area Ghaziabad, when an explosion occurred due to fire crackers on Sunday in a bus carrying marriage party. As per detail, a bus was on its way from Ghaziabad carrying a marriage party when suddenly an explosion occurred in it due to fire crackers inside the bus leaving 30 persons dead on the spot and more than 30 persons received burn injuries.
Eye-witnesses said that mostly women and children were among the dead. One eye-witnesses claimed that most victims’ bodies were charred beyond recognition. The injured were rushed CMH, Mayo, Services and Shalimar hospitals for medical treatment. However, when contacted SSP Lahore put death toll at 25. While witnesses said that as many as 30 dead bodies were pulled out of the bus and more deaths were also feared.
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 told newsmen. “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, an official from his secretariat told. 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.