KARACHI: Police on Monday registered a first information report (FIR) after a gas leak in the city's Keamari area killed six people and left dozens others hospitalised a day earlier.
The FIR was registered in Jackson police station under the supervision of SHO Malik Adil. As per the complaint, the poisonous gas affected people at 6PM on Monday at Masan Road, Railway Colony, Jackson Bazaar, and surrounding areas.
As of reporting time, some 63 had been hospitalised.
Police have been asked to determine the cause of the gas leakage and bring the culprits to account.
After the gas leak, 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 during the offloading of chemicals from a cargo ship anchored at Keamari Jetty.
However, these claims were denied by the KPT as its chairperson Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar said that no evidence had been found after a thorough inspection of the berths and terminals. He said that the investigation had revealed that gas had not leaked from any tanker or port.
“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 had said.
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.