At least 22 women and children, including the bride, have died after a fire broke out in a tent at a wedding party in eastern Pakistan, police said.

At least 30 people were injured in the accident in Jhok Utra, 120km (75 miles) west of Multan, when a wall collapsed after the blaze triggered a stampede.

An electrical short-circuit is thought to have caused the blaze.

The male wedding guests were in a separate tent that was not damaged, although the groom was injured.

According to local custom there were two tents - one for the women and one for the men. They were set up in the garden of the bride's home.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says more than 100 women and children were in a tent singing wedding songs when an electrical short circuit set fire to the canvas.

The blaze triggered a stampede as guests tried to escape the flames in the collapsing tent. Many of them clambered over a nearby wall, which gave way under their weight.

Police said people died of burns and from injuries caused when they tried to escape, some immediately, others later in hospital. A number have been critically injured.

Photo caption

Map showing location of town of Multan in Pakistan