Fuel Tanker Inferno Kills 90, Injures 114

The director general for rescue operations of the Red Crescent at Sistan-Baluchestan Province said on Friday that many bodies burned at the result of explosion are beyond recognition.

Dr. Alireza Qadyani told the Mehr News Agency that with the exception of 90 bodies, the rest have been burned to ashes; he said that even the seats of the buses are not visible.

Qadyani said 114 people have been injured in the explosion.

The incident happened as a gasoline truck exploded after smashing into a bus on Thursday, killing 90 people and injuring more than 100, officials said on Friday.

The accident happened when the truck lost control and ploughed into a bus waiting at Nosratabad police checkpoint. The fireball then enveloped five other buses.

Iran has one of the highest road accident rates in the world, averaging five deaths every two hours.

Nosratabad lies on the road from Zahedan to Bam, which was hit by an earthquake last year that killed more than 20,000 people.

Zahedan is about 30km (20 miles) from the Pakistan border as the crow flies.