Four factory workers die after inhaling poisonous gas

Four workers died after inhaling poisonous gas at a textile factory in Karachi on Monday. According to police, the incident took place at a textile factory located near the Chowkandi Graveyard within the limits of the Shah Latif police station. Upon receiving the information, police and rescuers reached the factory and transported the casualties to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Doctors said that two of the four men had already been dead when they were brought to the hospital and the other two died during treatment. The deceased persons were identified as Shahzad, 20, Ghulam Hussain, 21, Imran, 30, and Sheharyar, 28.

Police said that initially they received information about a boiler explosion at the factory but later it was revealed that the deaths resulted due to leakage of a poisonous gas while the workers were working at the factory.

The company’s technicians and experts were trying to ascertain the actual cause of the incident, police said, adding that different types of chemicals were used in the factory and it was yet to be ascertained how the gas leakage occurred.

After the incident, a large number of family members and relatives of the victims gathered outside the factory and demanded strict action against the responsible persons. Police said a case would be registered if criminal negligence was found or the heirs of the victims approached them for registering a case.

Sindh Labour and Information Minister Saeed Ghani also took notice of the incident and ordered investigations. Separately, two more persons died after falling into a manhole during a cleaning work in the Keamari area within the limits of the Jackson police station.

Police said the victims were identified as Ashraf and Arjun Lal. They explained that initially, one person fell in the manhole and suffocated due to poisonous gases, and when his companion tried to save him, he went inside and died. The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Karachi. Further investigations are under way.