Unloading of soybean from Hercules cargo ship begins at Port Qasim

KARACHI: The unloading of soybean from the 'Hercules' cargo ship began on Monday at the city's Port Qasim, authorities confirmed.   

The move comes after the unloading was  delayed twice due to aeroallergens from soybean dust that had  reportedly caused more a dozen deaths in the metropolis.

The ship — which was moved from Keamari to the deep-sea port after 14 people inhaled aeroallergen from soybean dust and died last month — was carrying 68,000 tonnes' worth of the grain, officials at the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) said, adding that the process had already been postponed twice.

The 'Hercules' cargo ship had arrived from the United States after clearing security checks, the officials said, adding that the process was permitted to go ahead and commenced earlier today after all necessary tests were carried out.

Last month, the Sindh health department had confirmed that the death toll from the airborne soybean dust here in the city's Keamari locality rose to 14 and that more than 300 people were affected.

The department's spokesperson had said the 300 people who fell sick included women and children as well. The deceased's families had at the time refused to give permission to medics to carry out post-mortem