KARACHI: We have completed the inspection of the terminals and the berths, no evidence of a gas leak from there has been found, said Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Chairman Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar on Monday, a day after a poisonous gas killed at least five and injured scores in the city's Keamari area.
“If there had been a leak from the port, then the first affectees would be the people working there. Here we are in front of you,” he said. Akhtar said that the area under the KPT's jurisdiction — which included berths and terminals — had been "completely inspected" and that no evidence of a gas leak had been found.
The rear admiral said he was not in a position to state the source or origin of the leak because the Pakistan Navy’s Biological and Chemical Damage Control team had not provided any results yet.
Akhtar hoped the results of the samples will be released in a day or two.
At least five people died and dozens were hospitalised on Sunday due to a gas leakage in the city's Keamari area.
Those hospitalised had complained of respiratory problems, police officials and doctors said, noting that the real cause of the incident could not be ascertained. Sources said the leakage occurred while the chemicals were being offloaded from a cargo ship anchored at Keamari Jetty.
The deceased included two women as well.
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi said a Navy's team was conducting a chemical analysis of the unidentified gas.
He said around 100 patients have been treated so far, with two of them still at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.
“For the record, approx 100 patients have been treated and released since last night. Two are still in ICU. We continue to monitor the situation,” he said in a Twitter post.
Earlier on Monday, due to the ongoing toxic gas issues, four employees of the Customs House fainted.
Following the incident, the employees were sent home and the building was shut down.