Accidental truck blast kills 18 in Pakistan

[June 28, 2010]  KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- A truck carrying chemicals accidentally exploded Monday in southern Pakistan after pressure built up in its storage tank, killing 18 people and wounding 40, police said.

Hundreds of people rushed to the truck depot in Hyderabad city to search through the rubble of destroyed shops for dead and wounded, local television footage showed.

Authorities ruled out terrorism and determined the blast occurred from a pressure build-up, said Mohammad Ali Baloch, the senior police official in Hyderabad.

The truck was carrying 30,000 liters (7,925 gallons) of "thinner," said Babar Khattak, the police chief in Sindh province where Hyderabad is located. He was not more specific about the chemical being transported.

[Associated Press; By ASHRAF KHAN]

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