An oxygen cylinder explosion inside a parked ambulance at a government-run medical facility in Pakistan's southern Sindh province killed at least 10 people, including a patient, police and hospital officials said on Thursday.
The incident occurred overnight in Tharparkar district, where patients were being prepared for transfer to another hospital, local police official Khalil Abro said. The victims included medical facility staff, patients and their relatives, according to officials.
However, reports from local Pakistani media gave differing death tolls as rescue operations and identification efforts continued.
Ambulance caught fire during patient transfer
District Police Chief Arif Aziz confirmed the explosion in Tharparkar. Initial accounts indicated that the ambulance was parked at the medical facility when the oxygen cylinder exploded, setting the vehicle ablaze.
Local media reports placed the incident at a health facility in Dano Dhandhal village in the Nagarparkar area of Tharparkar district. Rescue officials said the ambulance was completely gutted in the ensuing fire, while injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Images circulating on social media and broadcast by television channels showed flames engulfing the ambulance, with one of its doors open. Other images showed the vehicle reduced to a blackened frame outside a building, with people gathered nearby.
Authorities were investigating the circumstances surrounding the explosion.
President calls for transparent probe
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow over the deaths and called for a prompt and transparent investigation to establish the cause of the blast, according to a statement from his office.
He also urged the authorities to strengthen safety measures to prevent similar incidents. Zardari offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Previous hospital fire killed 15 newborns
The incident comes months after a deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad.
In August, an exploding air conditioner triggered a fire in a hospital nursery, killing 14 newborns. The only baby initially rescued from the nursery died weeks later, taking the death toll to 15.