Death toll in Pakistan tanker fire reaches 219

Islamabad: The death toll in last month's oil tanker explosion in Pakistan's Punjab province has climbed to 219, officials said.

The number of deaths in the June 25 explosion rose after a victim died at a hospital on Monday in Multan city, the News International reported on Tuesday. 

At least 34 injured persons were still undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

Meanwhile, relatives of several victims of the tragedy claimed that the cheques issued to them by the district government on the order of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had bounced. 

The relatives claim was denied by the officials.

The accident occurred when a tanker loaded with gasoline overturned and spilt thousands of liters of fuel on a national highway near Bahawalpur city in Punjab.

According to preliminary investigations, dozens of residents from the neighbouring area, including women and children, came to the site to collect fuel before the tanker exploded.