At least 18 people, including eight children, were killed and 28 others injured on Wednesday night after a passenger bus with 55 aboard caught fire in Pakistan's southern Jamshoro district, police said on Thursday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police of the area Wajid Thaheem told the media that the bus was engulfed in fire when it reached the Nooriabad area of Jamshoror district of Sindh province. According to the police, the initial investigation revealed that the fire erupted due to the vehicle's malfunctioning air conditioning system.

The injured people were sent to the Liaquat University Hospital in Jamshoro. The hospital officials feared that the death toll might rise because several of the injured were burnt severely and were in critical condition.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)

(Cover: A view of the burning bus in which 18 people, including 8 children, died in Karachi, Pakistan, October 13, 2022. /CFP)