1st LD Writethru: Over 50 dead after bus-oil tanker collision in Karachi, Pakistan

At least 50 people were killed after a passenger bus collided with an oil tanker in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi early Sunday morning, said a local official.

Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui told the media that the accident, which reportedly took place at about 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday morning, had killed at least 50 people.

Dr. Semi Jamali from Karachi's Jinnah Hospital, which has admitted most of the victims of the accident, confirmed that they had received 50 bodies and 12 injured people.

Most of the victims seem to have died in the fire caused by the collision as many of the bodies received by the hospital were burned beyond recognition, said Dr. Semi Jamali, adding that the killed need to be identified by DNA.

Initial investigation showed that the accident was caused by the negligence of the oil tanker driver, said traffic police.

Overloading is also a reason for the heavy loss of lives in the accident, said Mir Mumtaz Jakharai, the transport minister of Sindh Province with Karachi as its capital.

The bus was fully packed with an estimated 70 passengers aboard and a dozen people even sat at the top of the bus when the accident happened, said rescue workers.

The accident occurred on the country's Super Highway when the bus was heading from Karachi to Shikarpur, a city in the northern part of Sindh Province. Endi