School van explosion kills 15 children in Pakistan

At least 15 people - most of them children - were killed in the Gujrat district of Punjab on Saturday in an explosion in their school van. Some of the children were as young as five, police said.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the explosion was triggered by a short circuit when the driver switched the dual-fuel vehicle from Compressed Natural Gas to petrol. The driver fled the scene and one teacher accompanying the children was also killed in the explosion.

Bodies of the victims were apparently charred beyond recognition and DNA testing was being carried out to establish their identities.