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At least 150 people were killed on Sunday after an overturned oil truck exploded in a huge fireball while it was surrounded by crowds scavenging for fuel.
Video footage of the scene, near Multan in Punjab province, showed dozens of charred corpses lined up in a field by the side of the road, some of them covered in white shrouds.
A further 200 people were injured in the explosion, with the majority suffering from burns on 70% of their bodies according to local police.
The oil tanker was carrying 50,000 litres fuel from Karachi to Lahore when it slipped from the road and overturned in the small town of Ahmedpur East.
"When the tanker turned over, residents rushed to the site with buckets and other containers, and a large number of people on motorcycles also came and started collecting the spilling fuel," local police chief Raja Riffat told the Telegraph.
"After about 10 minutes the tanker exploded in a huge fireball and enveloped the people collecting petrol".
"It was not clear how the fire started, we started an investigation and still we cannot say anything [about the cause]."
He added that many of the bodies were "badly burned beyond identification" and that the death toll was likely to rise.
Dozens of vehicles, including 75 motorcycles and four cars, were engulfed in the blaze, which firefighters were still struggling to subdue on Sunday afternoon.
"At least 40 of the injured are in critical condition and are being transferred to hospitals in Multan for treatment," said Dr Rizwan Naseer, the director of Punjab rescue services.
"Most of those taken to the hospitals got 70% burn injuries,"
Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, announced he would cut short his visit to London and return to Pakistan immediately.
Seven brothers from the same family were reportedly among the dead, as well as two sisters who were about to get married.
"Everyone in the family and the village is deeply shocked. Nobody is able to explain what just happened," said Hafiz Sohailm, who lost his uncle and cousin the explosion.
"It was all fire everywhere I saw. For quite some time I was unable to understand what was going on," he told AFP.
Mohammad Shabbir, another resident , claimed the driver was shouting for people to stay away because the petrol could explode at any time, but no one listened.
Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah told local reports that the tanker driver had survived the crash and been taken into custody.
Pakistan has a poor record of fatal traffic accidents due to shoddy roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
At least 62 people including women and children were killed in southern Pakistan in 2015 when their bus collided with an oil tanker.
The country has also long struggled to alleviate a chronic energy crisis, with regular blackouts crippling industry and exacerbating anger against the government.
Many Pakistanis were already unnerved by a series of deadly militant attacks across the country Friday, with officials Sunday increasing the death toll from the assaults in three cities to a total of 69.
Social media users Sunday posted messages of grief and solidarity with the victims of the oil tanker crash as well as Friday's attacks, as many prayed for a safe Eid.
Additional reporting: AFP