Many victims' bodies burned beyond recognition in fireball LAHORE, Pakistan - An oil tanker crashed on a road in Pakistan on Sunday and 146 people, many of whom had rushed to collect leaking fuel, were killed when it exploded, apparently after someone lit a cigarette, officials said. The tanker overturned on a sharp bend on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur. The driver lost control when the vehicle blew a tire, a provincial government spokesman said. A large crowd of people gathered, many to collect fuel in containers, and the tanker exploded in a huge fireball about 45 minutes later. Rescue workers said about 80 people had been injured. People of the area and passers-by had started gathering fuel when it exploded, burning everybody, provincial government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said. An estimated 20 children were among the dead, he said. Doctor Aurangzeb, medical superintendent of Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur, said that 120 bodies and more than 100 injured people had been received by different hospitals in the district. The accident happened the day before Pakistan celebrates the Eid al-Fitr festival, when families get together to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Many bodies were burned beyond recognition and television pictures showed piles of burned out motorbikes, apparently those of people who arrived to collect fuel or just to have a look. Police had tried to clear the area before the explosion but people ignored them, Khan said, adding that the initial crash had blocked the road causing a backup of traffic. The driver of the tanker survived the accident and had been taken into police custody, he said. About 50 people were killed in separate bomb attacks in Pakistan on Friday but there was no suggestion of an attack on Sunday. According to initial reports, somebody tried to light a cigarette, said a spokesman for the rescue services, Jam Sajjad Hussain. Firefighters took two hours to douse the flames. Police in the area could not immediately be reached for comment. About 40 people with serious burns were airlifted to hospitals in the nearby city of Multan. Reuters - Xinhua A soldier stands guard amid the wreckage of burnt-out cars and motorcycles at the scene of an oil tanker explosion in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, on Sunday.Reuters (China Daily 06/26/2017 page12) band wristbandswristband keychainrubber bracelet makerrubber arm bandscustom printed wristbands
BEIJING - The Communist Party of China on Tuesday unveiled a new leadership, electing the 19th CPC Central Committee to lead the Party for the coming five years. Elected by 2,336 delegates at the closing session of the 19th CPC National Congress, the new CPC Central Committee includes 204 members and 172 alternate members. "The congress elected a new Central Committee of the Party, realizing organizational succession," Xi Jinping said while addressing the closing session at the Great Hall of the People. Xi, 64, was elected into the new Central Committee. He was the General Secretary of the 18th CPC Central Committee. Also elected were Wang Huning, Liu Qibao, Xu Qiliang, Sun Chunlan, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Zhang Chunxian, Zhao Leji, Hu Chunhua, Li Zhanshu and Han Zheng. Li Keqiang, 62, was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee. The others were all members of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee. The 19th CPC Central Committee will elect the Political Bureau, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and the General Secretary at its first plenary session scheduled on Wednesday. Before the formal election on Tuesday, delegates to the congress carried out preliminary elections for candidates of members and alternate members of the 19th CPC Central Committee and of members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. According to the Party Constitution, the highest leading body of the CPC is the National Congress and the Central Committee it elects, and all constituent organizations and members of the Party are subordinate to the National Congress and the Central Committee. The CPC National Congress is held every five years.
