QUETTA: The death toll from the Noshki fuel tank explosion has climbed to 19, as more of the critically injured succumbed to their burn injuries at a Karachi hospital over the past four days, officials said on Sunday.

The Balochistan government had airlifted 24 seriously injured individuals to Liaquat National Hospital in Karachi via a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft on April 29, after a fuel tanker carrying smuggled Iranian petrol caught fire and exploded in Noshki town.

The incident initially killed the driver and left over 60 others injured, many of whom suffered severe burns. The fire broke out while welding work was being carried out on a damaged fuel tank.

In an attempt to prevent a larger disaster, the driver had moved the truck away from the bus and truck stand to a more isolated area. However, a crowd had gathered near the vehicle when it exploded.

The explosion engulfed the surrounding area, including a fire tender trying to douse the flames. All injured were first transported to Noshki Hospital, then referred to the burn unit at Bolan Medical College Hospital in Quetta. Those with critical injuries were later shifted to Karachi.

Officials said most of the patients flown to Karachi had sustained 70 to 80 per cent burns. Of the 19 confirmed fatalities, 16 bodies have been shifted to Noshki and handed over to their families, while the remaining three will arrive in Quetta on Monday (today).

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2025