QUETTA: Six more victims of devastating Noshki fire incident succumbed to severe burn injuries while undergoing treatment in Karachi, raising the death toll to 29, officials said on Monday

The Balochistan government has formed an inquiry team to determine the cause of the blaze, they said. The team has visited Noshki, gathering statements, including from a welder who was working on the truck’s fuel tank shortly before it exploded.

“The team has arrested the welder for investigation,” an official told Dawn, adding that a report will be submitted once the inquiry is complete.

The fire erupted when the fuel tank of a truck, reportedly carrying smuggled Iranian petrol, exploded during welding work in Noshki town.

Reports from the scene indicated large crowds had gathered near the truck after the driver moved the burning vehicle from the main bus and truck stand. A fire tender dispatched to the scene reportedly malfunctioned, failing to control the fire, which then engulfed many bystanders.

The incident initially left one person dead and over 60 injured, who were first transported to Quetta, then the provincial government airlifted 24 critically injured individuals to Karachi on a C-130 military plane for specialised treatment.

Hospital officials who initially treated the victims described the injuries as extensive. “Seventy percent of the bodies of the injured had burned in the fire,” a hospital official said.

About 36 injured remain under treatment at the burn unit of the CHK.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025