Traffic on the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway eased up Sunday afternoon following a 17-hour-long gridlock after an oil tanker met with an accident near Nooriabad overnight, DawnNews reported.

The oil tanker was on its way from Karachi to Hyderabad when the trawler's driver reportedly sped up near Nooriabad, causing it to flip over, National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) officials told DawnNews.

No injuries were reported.

Passengers stuck on the highway spent the night stuck in cars cramped bumper-to-bumper along the stretch of motorway.

According to police, the traffic jam along the route intensified when, after the accident, cars began going the wrong way.

NHMP officials said that because of the gridlock, it was difficult to reach the site of the accident with the heavy machinery needed to remove the oil tanker. The tanker was finally removed a little after noon, they added.

They added that construction work on the motorway also hindered their efforts to clear the route.

The Hyderabad-Karachi section of the motorway is now open for traffic.