LAHORE: Three cars were damaged when a fire erupted following an explosion in an oil tanker at Fategarh here on Wednesday.

Flames and dense smoke created panic in the vicinity, prompting people to leave their business points fearing a ‘bomb blast’.

The incident occurred when the tanker was heading towards a filling station to supply petrol, a police official told reporters.

He said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. As the tanker reached close to the petrol pump, the fire erupted in a portion of the tanker. The driver immediately left the vehicle and rushed to save his life.

Meanwhile, a powerful blast occurred and the fire engulfed the tanker and damaged three parked cars.

Rescue 1122 personnel reached the spot with seven special vehicles and controlled the blaze after hectic efforts of an hour, he said, adding luckily no injury was reported to any person in the massive fire incident.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2021