Bus-oil tanker collision leaves 20 dead on M-5 Motorway

• At least 20 people lost their lives and six others sustained injuries after bus careened off into an oil tanker near Bahawalpur on Tuesday. 
• Accident caused by speeding, say Motorway officials. 
• The dead and injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals. 

At least 20 people were killed and six others injured after a sleeper bus collided with an oil tanker on the M-5 Motorway, also known as the Multan-Sukkur Motorway near Bahawalpur on Tuesday. The passenger bus was on its way from Lahore to Karachi.

Motorway officials said the accident was caused by speeding. The accident took place when the speeding sleeper bus went out of control and collided with an oil tanker on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway, according to Motorway officials. Traffic remained suspended on the accident spot at M-5 Motorway for several hours.

The oil tanker and the bus caught fire soon after the collision, according to the spokesperson of the Motorway Police. The officers of the Motorway Police immediately reached the spot after the accident took place. Local police and rescue 1122 teams also reached the spot.

According to the spokesman, the fire was so intense and terrifying that it was visible from a distance. Most of the passengers were rescued alive from the burning vehicles and were immediately transported to nearby hospitals. At least nine passengers were safely rescued from the burning bus.

The Motorway spokesperson further said that it took several hours for the rescue teams to extinguish the fire. On the instructions of IG Khalid Mahmood, the Motorway Police set up an emergency crisis centre. During the rescue operation, DIG Shahid Jawad was also on the spot.

The ill-fated sleeper bus left Lahore for Karachi at 9pm.

According to the bus company sources, there were two drivers aboard the bus. All staff were to be changed in Sukkur. There were 24 passengers on board -- two passengers were going to Hyderabad, while 22 others were going to Karachi.