17 killed in bus accident in Pakistan

The toll in a road accident Monday night in Pakistan has risen to 17, officials said Tuesday.

In the accident in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab on Monday night, a passenger van collided with a truck coming from the opposite side in Chiniot district of Punjab, reports Xinhua.

Muneer Ahmad Zia, the district police officer, said at least 17 people were burnt to death and two were injured.

Contrary to earlier reports that said a total of 18 people were in the van, officials later said there were 22 people in the van and only three people, including a child, managed to jump from the rear side of the van to save their lives.

A patrolling police official, Fida Hussain, said as the passenger van collided with the truck, its compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinder exploded and triggered a quick fire.

Flames spread in the van and burnt 16 people to death on the spot while three were injured. One of the injured later died of his wounds.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and put off the fire. Rescue teams had to cut open the van to take out the bodies and injured.

The injured and the dead were shifted to the district hospital of Chiniot.

The passenger van was heading towards the textile city of Faisalabad from Rawalpindi.

Zia blamed the accident to the negligence of the van's driver.