QUETTA, Sept 15: Several tankers carrying fuel for US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan were gutted in mysterious circumstances near Hub on Sunday night.

According to sources, the tankers going to Chaman from Karachi were parked at a roadside hotel in Bhawani area near Hub town for night.

“One oil tanker suddenly caught fire which quickly engulfed other tankers,” the sources said.

Drivers and cleaners saved their lives by jumping off the tankers.

Lasbela district police chief Ahmed Nawaz Cheema said no gunfire or rocket explosion was heard in the area and “it could be an accident or an IED blast”.

Local sources said the number of tankers gutted was around 20 and the fire had been caused by a gun and rocket attack.

“The flames could be seen from miles,” a police officer said, adding that efforts were under way to extinguish the fire. He said the extent of damage and the number of tankers involved in the incident would be ascertained after the fire had been put out.

There were reports that a man and a woman had been injured.

On Friday, eight tankers were torched after a rocket attack in Surab area of Kalat district that also claimed a life.

AFP adds: Overland oil shipments to Nato troops in landlocked Afghanistan resumed through Pakistan less than two weeks ago under tighter security after a five-month suspension due to attacks.

Pakistani contractors had stopped driving oil supplies from Karachi to the Torkham crossing on the Afghan border due to frequent strikes on their vehicles.