HYDERABAD: At least 10 persons were burnt alive on Sunday late night when a passenger hi-ace van caught fire, following an explosion in its gas kit at the Karachi-Hyderabad Superhighway.

The injured, including two children, were shifted to a hospital in Karachi.

According to Jamshoro police, four charred bodies have been recovered which are beyond recognition.

SSP Jamshoro Naeem Shaikh confirmed that nine passengers were killed in this road accident.

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"The tyre of the van burst and then it fell into a ditch. This caused the explosion in its cylinder," said SSP Naeem.

Rescuers had to cut the door and parts of the van to retrieve the remaining bodies as the van had been completely gutted.

Shaikh said, quoting witnesses, only those passengers who were sitting near the ill-fated van's door could get out of it.

He further stated that nine other passengers sustained minor injuries as they managed to jump out of the van that caught fire.

Meanwhile, station house officer Hashim Brohi of Nooriabad police station confirmed that 10 bodies were eventually recovered from the van, which were later shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi. He said that all the bodies were beyond recognition and only a DNA test could determine their identity.

The incident took place near Lucky cement factory, around two kilo meters away from Nooriabad near Pakiza hotel.

The injured were shifted to a Karachi hospital by Motorway police who were first to reach at the spot. Subsequently, ambulance services also reached there.

Fire tenders took some time to reach at the spot from Nooriabad which is the nearest fire extinguishing facility. Locals and Motorway police tried to extinguish the fire manually but it didn't help them to control the massive fire.

According to SSP Naeem Shaikh, the driver of the van is also believed to be among dead.

The van (JF-6317) carries 18 passengers on a regular trip, an injured person told Motorway police , adding that it was almost full of passengers at the time of the accident.

Travelling through these re-conditioned vans, imported from Japan, has become common . Commuters opt for it when it comes to travelling between Karachi-Hyderabad.

There is no fire fighting facility available on this busy Hyderabad-Karachi super highway. The nearest health facility is that of Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Jamshoro or Karachi.