(Karachi) At least 18 people, including 12 children, were killed in the fire of the bus which brought them back to their village after being displaced by the catastrophic floods which hit Pakistan this summer, we learned on Thursday from official source.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The fire started in the night from Wednesday to Thursday when the bus had just left Karachi (South), where these people had taken refuge after the floods caused by the monsoon rains.
A third of the country was found under water, eight million people were displaced, two million homes destroyed or damaged and 1,500 hospitals and clinics ravaged. The damage is estimated at 28 billion dollars and a health crisis now threatens the displaced.
The water is slowly beginning to recede from the flooded areas and many displaced people, who had taken refuge in makeshift camps, are now returning home to try to rebuild their lives.
The victims “were returning to their village when they were caught up in this accident,” Vinod Kumar, a local health official, who was present at the scene of the tragedy, told AFP.
“Apparently, the fire started in the air conditioning system of the bus, but the investigation will reveal the real cause,” said a police official, Hashim Brohi, also present on the spot.
Fatal accidents are very common in transport in Pakistan due to poor roads, poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Some 1,700 people have been killed since the start of the monsoon in June in the floods, which Pakistani officials have widely blamed on climate change.