Wedding party caught in bus fire, 35 dead
LAHORE, Pakistan, Monday (Reuters) - At least 35 people, including
women and children, were killed in Pakistan on Sunday when a bus
carrying a wedding party caught fire, police said.
Friends of the groom were celebrating the marriage in the eastern
city of Lahore by letting off fire crackers in front of his house when
one of the fireworks set alight the fuel tank of the bus, police said.
"So far, 35 bodies have been pulled out but we fear more people could
have been killed," said Aamir Zulfiqar, a senior superintendent of
police in Lahore.
The wedding party had taken the bus to visit the bride's home and had
just returned to the groom's house when the accident happened, Zulfiqar
said.
The number of people on the bus was not known. Up to five injured
people had been pulled out, he said.
People often set off fire crackers, and sometimes fire guns into the
air, to celebrate marriages in Pakistan despite efforts by authorities
to discourage such practices. |