DHAKA: At least 57 people have been killed after an oil tanker apparently speeding in the wrong direction crashed into a passenger bus in southern Pakistan, igniting a fierce blaze, police have said.

The bus was en route to the town of Shikarpur from the southern port city of Karachi when the collision occurred along a stretch of dilapidated road early on Sunday.

"The bus carrying some 50 passengers hit the oil tanker, which according to initial reports was coming in a wrong direction," senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwaar said.

"The bus caught fire after the accident, killing at least 30 people."

The victims included women and children, some of whom were charred beyond recognition, Anwaar added.

A few passengers escaped unhurt after they jumped out of the bus windows, another police official Muhammad Jan said, confirming the toll.

"We are trying to ascertain if the driver of the oil tanker was solely at fault or whether the bus driver also showed negligence," Anwaar said.

Television channels showed live footage from the fiery crash site where rescue workers were busily evacuating dead bodies and injured.

Pakistan has an appalling record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly-maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

It was the second major fatal crash in Sindh province in less than three months.

At least 57 people, including 18 children, were killed in November last year when a bus collided with a goods truck loaded with coal near Khairpur town, 450 kilometres (300 miles) north of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

An average of 4,500 people have been killed in road accidents each year since 2011, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Source: Al-Jazeera

BDST: 0756 HRS, JAN 11, 2015