LAHORE, Pakistan — Sixteen children and a teacher burned to death in eastern Pakistan when a minibus taking the students to school suddenly caught fire, police said.

Police earlier said the children who died in the Saturday morning blaze in Gujrat, about 120 miles northwest of Islamabad, were between 6 and 12.

Officer Ijaz Ahmad said a short-circuit next to a leaking gasoline tank started the blaze. Police earlier blamed an exploding natural gas cylinder. The bus was powered with both types of fuel.

He said an unspecified number of children were injured, some listed in critical condition.