HYDERABAD: Eight of the 10 people killed in the Sunday night van inferno in Nooriabad on Superhighway were residents of Hyderabad and included a couple.

It also emerged on Monday that the fire that gutted the van along with the victims was caused by petrol that leaked from the tank of the vehicle after it plunged into a roadside ditch. Hyderabad police, however, started impounding vehicles to force their drivers to remove gas cylinders and CNG kits.

Identification process

As the Nooriabad police and relatives of the victims continued the struggle to identify the charred remains, it was stated that there were multiple claims for some bodies. Only three of the bodies were handed over to the heirs till late Monday evening and they were of the couple, Iqbal Qureshi and Musarrat Qureshi, and the driver, Ramzan. The couple lived in Latifabad Unit No.8 and was returning home after attending the funeral of the woman’s uncle in Karachi. Mr Qureshi, a contractor by profession, was accompanying his paternal grandson, Talha, who survived as Mr Qureshi had thrown him out of the van when it caught fire.

Know more: 10 killed in Karachi van as gas kit explodes

The other deceased victims were identified as Asim Siddiqui, 40, owner of a general store in Latifabad, Arif Ghori, who had gone to attend his nephew’s engagement, Anis Qureshi, a resident of Khawaja Colony, Latifabad Unit No. 8, Farr­ukh Qureshi, a factory employee, and Irfan, a resident of Pucca Qila and a goldsmith by profession.

Irfan’s wife, Ms Ambreen, was injured but survived.

Nooriabad SHO Hashim Brohi said that seven bodies were not being handed over to the heirs for want of a proper DNA test to identify them. He also confirmed that the van’s gas cylinders appeared to be intact. A gas leakage, however, couldn’t be ruled out either, he added.

Transporters’ woes

Van drivers in Hyderabad, meanwhile, complained to their employers that police were forcing them to remove CNG kits and also imposing a fine of Rs4,000 each on them.

Owners of the vans transporting passengers between Hyderabad and Karachi accused police of harassing them.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2015

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