A petrol tanker has crashed into buses in south-eastern Iran, sparking a blaze which killed at least 50 and injured scores more, state media report. The tanker hit vehicles which had stopped at a police post outside the city of Zahedan on the main road from Bam, a local official told state TV.
Many bodies were burnt beyond recognition in the fire and 84 people were confirmed as injured. The Red Crescent said the final death toll could reach 200.
The tanker had been travelling into Zahedan, about 1,100km (690 miles) from Tehran, when it struck the buses, which appear to have been awaiting routine checks at the police post. The tanker had been carrying 18,000 litres (4,680 gallons) of petrol, the local police chief said. Reports suggest that at least one other lorry - possibly a second tanker or a vehicle carrying tar - was also caught up in the blaze. Governor Heidar Ali Nouraei told state TV that more than 70 people had died and 84 were injured while the Red Crescent estimated a death toll of "between 50 and 200". Policemen at the post said the tanker had been going too fast and careered out of control and turned over. It hit one of the buses and burst into flames while the leaking petrol then turned the whole area into an inferno, incinerating the buses and several other vehicles. It took firemen more than two hours to extinguish the blaze. [snippety-snip.] |