Watchman dies in explosion at cosmetics warehouse in Karachi

Police refute administration’s claims of terrorist activity at the godown

KARACHI:

A man was killed and another wounded in a mysterious blast inside a cosmetics warehouse in Nursery area on Wednesday morning. Though the administration of the godown claimed that it was an act of terrorism, as someone planted or threw an explosive at the godown, police investigators have ruled out the possibility of terrorist activity and believe it was an accident.

Panic gripped the area when a powerful explosion took place at a godown used to store chemicals used in the production of cosmetics. The godown was located in the basement of a multi-storey building in Block 6 of the Pakistan Employees Cooperative Housing Society (PECHS) within the limits of the Tipu Sultan police station.

The blast, which occurred before the fire spread, caused windows of nearby buildings to shatter and an adjoining wall of a school to collapse. People rushed out of their houses and offices in horror and the nearby school was evacuated.

The school administration said that their classes had just started when the explosion occurred. “It was a powerful explosion,” said a teacher of the nearby school, Amir Siddiq. “We immediately evacuated the school to avoid any untoward incident, as we had no idea what had happened or what was going to happen,” he narrated. “We were taking all the necessary measures to protect our children,” he explained.

Panic and fear spread even more when the warehouse manager claimed that someone had targeted the warehouse with explosives. “It is 100% a terrorist activity,” asserted the manager. “Everything in the storeroom remained safe. The blast did not occur inside but happened outside,” he said.

Experts from the bomb disposal squad and Counter-Terrorism Department immediately reached the site to investigate the cause of the blast and subsequent fire. “We have examined the entire site but could not find any trace of explosive material, suggesting that [the incident] occurred due to the presence of chemicals inside the warehouse,” explained an expert of the bomb disposal squad.

After the blast the building was engulfed by fire and fire tenders rushed to the site to douse the fire. The fire brigade spokesperson said that initially three fire tenders were rushed to the site, however, later more than a dozen fire tenders participated in the extinguishing work.

Chief Fire Officer Tehseen Siddiqui said that the godown also affected other floors and was doused after hectic efforts by the fire department. He said that 12 fire tenders and three water bowsers participated in the fire extinguishing work. Representatives of the city administration also reached the site and supervised the rescue work.

The rescue officials, however, later recovered a body from beneath the rubble as well as another worker who was injured. The victim was later identified as Salman Sarwar, who was a watchman at the warehouse. His wounded colleague was said to be in a stable condition.

Over a dozen workers are employed at the warehouse where cosmetics are made and stored. Police investigators, however, ruled the possibility of the terror activity or a short-circuit in the initial investigations. “So far, our investigations suggest that the incident occurred as an accident due to the presence of chemicals at the warehouse,” said Gulshan division SP Ghulam Murtaza told The Express Tribune.

“Now the warehouse administration is trying to defend themselves, as they fear that they could be taken to task for negligence due to poor safety measures.” The officer said that the number of casualties would have been higher if the blast had occurred a mere 10 minutes later. The blast occurred at 8:50am while the labourers usually begin work at 9am. SP Murtaza said that no case has been registered but vowed that a case would be registered against the warehouse owner and administration if evidence of their negligence was found.

National Trade Union Federation Information Secretary Mushtaq Ali Shan expressed grief over the reported death of the watchman. “The responsibility for this incident lies on the shoulders of the warehouse owner as well as the authorities,” he commented.

This is not an isolated incident but a continuation of workers’ killing at workplaces, he said, adding that the authorities should have awakened from their slumber after the Baldia factory fire incident and the Gadani oil tanker tragedy, as these were the deadliest disasters.

He claimed employers, authorities and labour rights watchdogs had made a criminal nexus to get away with the ‘murders’ they were committing for the sake of a mere financial profit. “Not only has the watchman died, but his family as well. Who will take care of his dependents now?” asked Shan.

“These incidents occur because no one bothers to implement labour laws and health and safety measures at workplaces,” he lamented. “And to cover their crimes, they say it was fate. This is how they use religion for their interests.”

Five injured in garment factory fire

Five workers were injured when a garment factory, reportedly illegally established in a three-storey residential building in Patel Para neighbourhood, caught fire on Wednesday.

Of the five, an unnamed worker jumped off the building in a bid to save his life while the four others, identified as Fawad, Shehroz, Yasir and Owais, fell unconscious after smoke filled the facility where garments were manufactured, police said.

According to initial findings, the fire started at around 1:30pm in the warehouse situated on the ground floor of the building and rapidly engulfed the whole structure. Rescue workers faced difficulties due to narrow streets in which the fire brigade trucks could not easily enter. However, local residents aided the rescue workers in the extinguishment work.

According to the police, the factory was established a few months ago after the building was bought from the previous owner. The police are trying to locate the current owner of the building as, according to them, the incident seems to be a case of lack of health and safety measures.