Local journalist at scene of explosion of oil tanker in Bahawalpur sent BBC this footage of the awful incident. Over 100 killed pic.twitter.com/q1j4OSTfBR

— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) June 25, 2017

About 150 destitute Pakistanis who gathered around an over-spilled oil tanker to collect fuel for personal use are dead after the truck exploded into a huge fire ball, authorities said.

The tanker blew up about 45 minutes after it crashed on the outskirts of Bahawalpur Sunday, the day before the Eid Al Fitr festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Khalil Ahmed, a 57-year-old former government employee who lives in the village, said the hard scrabble community became excited when the tanker crashed — the driver was speeding around a curb and blew a tire — and ran to the accident site with bottles, cans and household utensils.

“People began calling their relatives to come and gather the oil, and some showed up from nearby villages as well. There must have been 500 people gathered when the fire began,” he said.

He said he lost 12 relatives in the fire, which was extinguished after two hours.

Rescue services spokesman Jam Sajjad Hussain said the tanker blew when one of those gathering oil lit a cigarette.

An estimated 146 people, including 20 children, are among the dead.

Another 40 people with serious burns were airlifted to nearby hospitals in the city of Multan.

Secunder Kermani, a correspondent with the BBC, posted a series of grim photos from the scene including the highway littered with bodies and charred remains of pots used to collect the gas.

“Almost inevitable that the dead will be amongst the poorest in society … who else would risk their lives for a few dollars worth of fuel?” he wrote on Twitter.

With Post wires