Five dead as fire again breaks out at Gadani yard

HUB: Five people were killed and one injured when a fire broke out in a ship parked on plot 60 of the Gadani Shipbreaking Yard in Hub on Monday. Four bodies have been recovered. Out of the five killed, two belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

The ship was owned by ex-chairman of the Shipbreaking Yard Association Rizwan Diwan Farooq, who was detained after he initially fled the spot when the fire first broke out. Over 55 labourers were working on the LPG ship when the blaze started, police said.

Officials from the environment department said chemical foam present inside the ship was responsible for the fire. They said all combustibles need to be removed from a ship before work is started but the foam was not removed in this case, which shows neglect.

Police sources pointed out that this was the same ship that caught fire in December last year. According to the police, rescue workers were still looking for three people. Bashir Mehmood Dani, president of the labourers association, however, claimed that the number of missing people was eight.

Most of the workers have been safely evacuated. The victims' bodies were transferred to the Civil Hospital, Gadani. On November 1 last year, 26 people were killed and at least 58 injured when a ship's fuel tank at Gadani Shipbreaking Yard had exploded, resulting in a deadly fire. Labourers in Gadani often work in poor conditions without basic protective gear.