Tharparkar Ambulance Fire Toll Rises to Eight
Eight people died after an ambulance caught fire at a health facility in Tharparkar, officials said, after one injured victim died on the way to Mithi for treatment. The Tharparkar ambulance fire happened at a Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) facility in Dano Dhandhal, in Nagarparkar taluka, on Wednesday.
Rescue officials said hospital staff were preparing patients for transfer and connecting an oxygen cylinder inside the ambulance when it exploded and set the vehicle ablaze. Dawn reported seven deaths in its first account of the incident. Later reports from Geo News, ARY News and The News put the toll at eight, after an injured person died while being taken to Mithi.
The Tharparkar ambulance fire: what happened
Police attributed the incident to an oxygen cylinder explosion. They said patients and hospital employees were among the dead and the injured. Five other people suffered severe burns and were referred to Mithi for treatment, rescue officials said.
Rescue personnel identified three of the dead as Jaswant, ambulance driver Ishaq Thebo and Pandhi Rajar. The remaining victims were badly charred, and officials said work to confirm their identities was still under way.
The News reported that a pregnant woman was still inside the ambulance when staff began fitting the oxygen cylinder, and that four hospital staff members were among the dead. Police said those killed included a PPHI dispenser, the ambulance driver, a watchman and another employee. Two midwives and a female attendant at the basic health centre were among the injured, police said.
Local people alleged that inadequate facilities at PPHI-run hospitals in Tharparkar had contributed to the incident. Police officials added that they were also investigating other angles, and the exact cause of the explosion had yet to be officially confirmed.
Home minister seeks report
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar took notice of the incident and sought details from the Tharparkar senior superintendent of police and the deputy commissioner, according to a spokesperson. He directed the authorities to ensure immediate medical help and timely treatment for the injured.
The injured were first taken to Civil Hospital Mithi for treatment, and some were later shifted to Karachi, the Tharparkar SSP said. Expert teams from Mirpurkhas and Karachi were called in to examine the evidence, a provincial government spokesperson said.
Assistant Commissioner Nagarparkar Erum Karim Narejo said the ambulance was parked at the health facility when the explosion occurred. Hospital administration said patients were being placed in the ambulance for referral when the blast happened during the fitting of the cylinder.
Why the incident matters for Tharparkar
Tharparkar is a largely arid district where residents often depend on public health facilities for medical care, and serious cases are routinely referred to Mithi or Karachi. That dependence makes the safety of ambulances and oxygen equipment a direct public safety issue, not a technical detail.
The incident has also renewed attention on emergency transport in the district. In October 2019, Geo News reported that Civil Hospital Mithi had refused to provide an ambulance to transport the body of a deceased infant, citing a lack of funds for fuel. That case was separate from Wednesday’s explosion, but it showed the same strain on emergency transport that families in Tharparkar face.
For now, the confirmed facts are the toll, the place and the sequence reported by rescue officials and police: an oxygen cylinder exploded as patients were being prepared for transfer, the ambulance caught fire, and eight people died. Officials have not yet confirmed whether the cylinder was faulty, wrongly fitted or poorly maintained. Those questions will decide whether this was a single accident or a failure of checks that should have caught the risk.
Frequently asked questions
How many people died in the Tharparkar ambulance fire?
Eight people died, according to later reports from Geo News, ARY News and The News. Dawn’s first account reported seven deaths, before one injured victim died on the way to Mithi.
Where did the incident happen?
It happened at a PPHI-run health facility in Dano Dhandhal, in Nagarparkar taluka of Tharparkar district in Sindh, while patients were being prepared for transfer.
What caused the fire?
Police attributed the incident to an oxygen cylinder explosion inside the ambulance. The exact cause has yet to be officially confirmed, and police said they were investigating other angles.
