VEHARI, Dec 30: A Burewala-bound bus collided on Saturday morning with an oil tanker amid a thick pall of fog on Gagoo-Lahore Road, about 50km from here, leaving at least 15 people dead and 10 grievously injured.

According to information received here, a bus (LOK-3665) coming from Arifwala collided head-on with an oil tanker (LSA-2188) near Chak 201/EB of the Gagoo Town area at about 5am. Thirteen of the passengers died on the spot, while two others breathed their last on the way to the hospital.

Another 10 passengers suffered injuries and were admitted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Burewala. Dr Rao Iftikhar of the emergency ward told Dawn that four of the injured were referred to the Nishter Hospital in Multan in serious condition.

According to him, 14 passengers died at the THQ hospital and one succumbed to wounds at the Nishter Hospital. He said most of the bodies, including those of two brothers, had been taken by the relatives and six injured were still at the hospital. The doctor identified the deceased as Hashim Raza, Abbas, Shaukat, Imran, Allah Wadaya, Mohammad Sadiq, Mohammad Hanif, Azhar Saeed, Farooq, Abdul Rauf, Qasim Ali, Zakir Hassan, Sheikh Illyas and Bagh Ali.

Among the injured were Imran, Abdul Majeed, Sajjad, Maqbool, Sakina, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Akbar and Allah Ditta.

Burewala ASP Dr Masroor Alam Kolachi said the accident had taken place owing to dense fog and over speeding by the bus driver while crossing the turn of 201/EB near Gagoo Town. He said the Gagoo police had registered a case and were investigating the case from various angles.

He said the oil tanker driver was among the dead whereas the bus driver fled.

APP adds: Most of the victims were labourers belonging to Lahore, Gujranwala and nearby places where they were going to celebrate Eid with their dear ones.