PakistanA Tragic Accident or Criminal Negligence?
Tharparkar ambulance blaze kills eight, including a pregnant woman and four hospital staff
The hospital administration says the woman was still inside the ambulance when staff began fitting an oxygen cylinder and an explosion started the fire.
Courtesy: The News, via X (Twitter)
The death toll from the oxygen cylinder blast at a Basic Health Unit (BHU) Plus facility in Tharparkar has risen to eight, after an injured person died on the way to Mithi for treatment, rescue officials said.
Rescue officials said the ambulance, run by the People's Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), caught fire while staff were changing its oxygen cylinder.
Nagarparkar Assistant Commissioner Erum Karim Narejo said the ambulance was parked at the health facility when it exploded.
The hospital administration said a pregnant woman was still inside the ambulance when staff began fitting the cylinder. An explosion during the process started the fire.
Police said the dead included a PPHI dispenser, the ambulance driver, a watchman and another employee.
Earlier information from rescue officials also listed a pregnant woman and two attendants among the victims.
Police said the injured included two midwives and a female attendant at the basic health centre.
The injured were being taken to Civil Hospital Mithi, while teams from the district administration, rescue services and the health department were at the scene.
Sindh Home and Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took notice of the incident and asked the Tharparkar senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the deputy commissioner for details, a spokesperson said.
He directed authorities to make sure the injured received immediate medical help and timely treatment. According to the Tharparkar SSP, they were moved to Karachi after initial treatment.
