The incident happened on Sunday evening in the Keamari area of Karachi. It is suspected that it emerged due to the gas leakage in the Karachi port area. The suspected gas leakage left 6 persons including 2 women dead in Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi.
There were unconfirmed reports that some chemicals had leaked from a recent shipment at the Keamari dockyard. The arrival of ships at the port is restrained by the Karachi Port Trust due to the gas leakage incident, said the minister.
Read more: Gas shortage in Pakistan leads another chilly winter
The Minister for Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi visited the hospital and directed the hospital administration for better treatment of the patients coming from Kiamari complaining about respiratory problems.
Mister for Maritime Affairs denied leakage of gas
Moreover, the Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi, expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed the port authorities to investigate the incident. The minister said that the incident did not occur on the port premises, while the matter is under investigation.
I have directed KPT to investigate & establish facts. Meanwhile KPT has also been directed to treat the patients at the KPT hopsital in Kemari.
Rest assured, details of the sad incident will be shared in due course & those responsible will be dealt with severely.— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) February 16, 2020
“I have just requested Pakistan Navy to dispatch their Nuclear Biological Chemical Damage (NBCD) team to investigate the source of the incident of poisonous gas in the Kemari area and take remedial measures,” he said in a series of tweets.
In addition to it, Ali Zaidi said that after the incident, Provincial Minister Nasir Hussain Shah helped in deputing the police force to the affected area in Kiamari near Karachi Port.
Fed Min @AliHZaidiPTI is on a visit to the affected area to ascertain the situation in Keamri. He also visited Zaiuddin Hospital whereby Sec MOMA Rizwan Ahmed is accompanying him. Moreover, damage control plus an investigation is underway to find the root cause of the incident. pic.twitter.com/GCqbHGaYI1
— Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Govt of Pakistan (@MaritimeGovPK) February 16, 2020
According to the Chief Operation Officer, Ziauddin Hospital Dr. Fahim said that the patients are affected by gas and many of the patients are complaining about respiratory problems.
The arrival of ships is restrained at the port
Meanwhile, the reported cases of patients affected by gas leakage are soaring, therefore, the arrival of ships is restrained until the investigation of the incident is completed. Ali Zaidi said that the ship seen on media belongs to Malaysia but the matter is under investigation and all necessary investigation is being done so that the actual cause of the gas leakage can be uncovered.
Read more: Why has Qatar refused to renegotiate prices of LNG contracts with India?
The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought the report in detail from the Commissioner Karachi. Meanwhile, Inspector General (IG) Sindh Police Dr. Kaleem Imam also directed the police authorities to take urgent measures to rescue the victims of the incident.