Firefighters struggle to douse Gadani ship blaze

Death toll rises to 19 as rescuers retrieve three more bodies

QUETTA/ KARACHI/ GADANI: Firefighters were battling on Wednesday to put out a huge blaze still raging more than a day after a series of explosions on a decommissioned oil tanker, with the death toll rising to 19.

Rescuers retrieved three more bodies from the Japanese vessel which was being broken up for scrap at the Gadani shipbreaking yard, some 45 kilometres west of Karachi.



Over 100 workers are still believed to be trapped inside the burning ship. “The fire is still burning,” said local administration official Zulfiqar Bokhari. “Civilian and military firefighters are struggling to put out the flames, which had been ignited by two blasts in quick succession and followed by eight more explosions.”

Edhi Foundation head Faisal Edhi, who is personally supervising rescue efforts, fears the workers trapped inside might have been burnt to death.

Clouds of thick black smoke rising from the giant ship could be seen miles away from the site, while flames are leaping up to the sky.

Though the prime minister expressed grief in a ceremonial statement, the tragedy has drawn little attention from top government officials who are apparently seized with a controversy over Panamagate.

Muhammad Hashim, commissioner of Kalat region of which Gadani is a part, said the contractor for the tanker work had been arrested and all shipbreaking at the yard has been banned while safety standards are reviewed.

An FIR has been registered against the owner of Plot No 54 where the vessel was moored; his manager and two contractors, according to Gadani SHO Rehmatullah. One of the contractors, Farooq Bengali, has been arrested, he added.

Police believe the initial blast occurred as workers were welding near a fuel tank oblivious of the fact that the ship was full of combustible fumes.

According to Bashir Mehmoodani, the labour leader at the shipbreaking yard, it is the responsibility of a contractor to make sure a ship has been cleansed of toxic fumes and combustible material before workers start breaking it for scrap.

However, he lamented that most contractors were in a hurry to get the work done and in the process deliberately ignore precautionary measures, risking the lives of their workers.

The National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) deputy general secretary, Nasir Mansoor, said the environment protection agency, labour department and social security institutions are equally responsible.

Meanwhile, the NTUF and Shipbreaking Mazdoor Union demanded that the families of the victims be compensated. Speaking at a news conference at Karachi Press Club, they also called on the authorities to hold the responsible accountable for deadly tragedy which they said was the worst in the history of the Gadani shipbreaking yard.

Nearly 60 people were wounded in the tragedy and brought to Karachi’s Civil Hospital where medics said on Wednesday that five of the injured workers were in a critical condition as they had suffered 100% burn injuries.



Over in Quetta, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri told lawmakers in the provincial assembly that a high-level committee has been formed to conduct an inquiry into the Gadani tragedy.

“Strict action would be taken against those found responsible for the incident,” he added. “I will visit Gadani along with the chief secretary and members of the inquiry committee to review the situation. I will update the house after the trip.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2016.