Seven burnt to death as van with smuggled petrol collides with truck in Pak

A van carrying smuggled petrol collided with a truck on Tuesday in Pakistan's Balochistan province, killing at least seven persons and burning three cars parked nearby and a police check post, authorities said.

The accident occurred a day after 20 people were killed when two buses collided head on in Pakistan's Punjab province that also left 30 others injured.

The smuggled petrol was hidden in the makeshift tank of the van. The van was travelling from the provincial capital of Quetta to Sibbi, police officials were quoted as saying by the Khyber news.

After the collision, five persons died on the spot and the two injured were shifted to a hospital where they succumbed to their injuries, police said, adding three cars, parked nearby, also caught fire along with the police check post.

Two policemen who were posted at the Mach check post also suffered burns while trying to put the fire out, the report said.

After the accident, officials reached the spot and tried to control the blaze. It took the authorities three hours to clear the Mach-Bolan highway.

Balochistan province, borders oil-rich Iran from where million of gallons of fuel is illegally transported to Pakistan.