Pakistan wedding party caught in bus fire

LAHORE, Pakistan - At least 35 people, including women and children, were killed in Pakistan yesterday when a bus carrying a wedding party caught fire, police said.

Friends of the groom were celebrating the marriage in the eastern city of Lahore by letting off fire crackers in front of his house when one of the fireworks set alight the fuel tank of the bus, police said.

"So far, 35 bodies have been pulled out but we fear more people could have been killed," said Aamir Zulfiqar, a senior superintendent of police in Lahore.

The wedding party had taken the bus to visit the bride's home and had just returned to the groom's house when the accident happened, Zulfiqar said.

The number of people on the bus was not known. Up to five injured people had been pulled out, he said.

People often set off fire crackers, and sometimes fire guns into the air, to celebrate marriages in Pakistan despite efforts by authorities to discourage such practices.

- REUTERS