Latest: Death toll from Pakistan oil tanker fire rises to 153

Latest: The death toll from an oil tanker fire in Pakistan has risen to 153, with dozens more in a critical condition, and the fatalities are expected to increase.

Latest: Death toll from Pakistan oil tanker fire rises to 153

Update 4.09pm: The death toll from an oil tanker fire in Pakistan has risen to 153, with dozens more in a critical condition, and the fatalities are expected to increase.

Update 12.30pm: The death toll from an oil tanker fire in Pakistan has risen to 148, with dozens more in a critical condition, a rescue official said.

The disaster happened when hundreds of residents of a nearby village gathered at the site of an overturned oil tanker to collect the leaking fuel.

It is believed that a spark from the many cars and motorcycles that raced to the scene ignited the fuel.

Dr Mohammad Baqar, a senior rescue official in the area, confirmed the latest toll, updating a previous figure.

He said many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and will have to be identified through DNA testing.

Some of the most badly burned were evacuated by army helicopters to Multan, about 60 miles away. The dead included men, women and children.

Local news channels showed black smoke billowing and horrific images of scores of burned bodies, as well as rescue officials speeding the injured to hospital and army helicopters ferrying the wounded.

The disaster came on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

While Saudi Arabia and most other Muslim countries celebrate the holiday on Sunday, Pakistanis will celebrate on Monday.

The tanker was driving from the southern port city of Karachi to Lahore, the Punjab provincial capital, when the driver lost control and crashed on the road outside Bahawalpur.

A loudspeaker on a mosque alerted villagers to the leaking fuel, and scores raced to the site with jerry cans, said Rana Mohammad Salim, deputy commissioner of Bahawalpur.

"Someone should tell me about my beloved sons, where are they? Are they alive or are they no longer in this world? Please tell me," she pleaded.

Abdul Malik, a local police officer who was also among the first to arrive, described a "horrible scene".

"I have never seen anything like it in my life. Victims trapped in the fireball. They were screaming for help," he said.

When the fire subsided, "we saw bodies everywhere, so many were just skeletons. The people who were alive were in really bad shape", he said.

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