Gas cylinder blast in bus kills 15 in Pakistan

At least 15 people were killed today when a blast, apparently triggered by a faulty gas cylinder, ripped through a bus on a highway near Islamabad, police said.

The victims were burnt alive when the passenger bus caught fire due to which one of five cylinders exploded on the Islamabad Express Highway, Geo News reported.

According to reports, the incident happened near Korang Town when the bus was on its way from Faizabad to Kallar Syedan. There were 35 to 40 passengers in the bus at the time of the explosion.

So far, 15 people have died and the number of casualties is feared to go up, police said.

Police said the passenger bus caught fire that resulted in cylinder explosion. However, a Geo News reporter on the scene said there were only four cylinders as there was no sign of the burst cylinder.

Local TV footage showed the charred carcass of the bus and ambulances shuttling wounded passengers to the hospital.