ISLAMABAD: At least 17 children and a female teacher were burned to death when a gas cylinder fitted into a school van exploded on Saturday in Pakistan’s eastern city of Gujrat.

At least 10 more children also sustained injuries when the van caught fire. According to police officials, the children were aged between five and 15 years. Emergency teams reached the scene to rescue the children. The victims were transported to a nearby hospital. Five among the injured were said to be in critical condition and were being shifted to Lahore for treatment.

The authorities in Gujrat’s hospital said that bodies of the victims were beyond recognition and their parents were demanding DNA testing.

Compressed natural gas is used in millions of vehicles in Pakistan as a cheaper alternative to diesel and petrol. Numerous vehicle explosions that occurred in the past were blamed on substandard cylinders used to contain the fuel.

In a separate incident on early Saturday morning, six policemen were killed and a district police officer (DPO) and his guards were injured when militants attacked their vehicles with rockets in the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar. Police officials said the attack was followed by an exchange of fire.

DPO Dilawar Bangash was on his way to Kohat from Peshawar along with his escort when his convoy was ambushed by militants near Ghaziabad check post of Mattani area on Indus Highway. Militants were equipped with RPG-7 rockets and they targeted two vehicles in the convoy. The attack destroyed one vehicle completely and killed six policemen on the spot and left four others injured including Bangash and his driver.