Eight killed, over 35 injured in blast at Karachi ice factory

Labour minister seeks report on safety measures at factory; city commissioner fears more casualties

KARACHI:

At least eight people were killed and over 35 others injured when the boiler of an ice factory in New Karachi Industrial Area exploded on Tuesday evening.

The ceiling of the factory, located near Saba Cinema, collapsed under the weight of the explosion and 10 other neighbouring workshops were damaged.

The air was heavy with smoke as rescue workers arrived and rushed to the aid of people buried under the rubble.

As many as eight bodies were retrieved and shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where they were identified as Sunny, Muhammad Shabbir, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Ramzan, Fazal Karim, and Mohsin. The identities of two others killed in the explosion could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

The injured were shifted to ASH and other hospitals and an emergency desk was set up at the former to assist the families of the blast victims.

The identities of all the injured could not immediately be ascertained. Sakhawat, Akbar, Rajesh, Amina, Sajid, Haseeb, Rasheed, Jaffer, Riaz, Ashraf, Abid, Zahid, Safdar, Shakir, Azhar, Adnan, Yousuf and Sher Ali, were some of the injured persons identified by the filing of this report.

The number of casualties may increase, warned Karachi Administrator Laeeq Ahmed following his visit to the site.

He said that two to three factories were affected and expressed suspicions that the presence of large quantities of ammonia gas cylinders caused the explosion.

Eyewitnesses of the explosion told The Express Tribune that the blast was so intense that the site was enveloped in dust and smoke and nothing else was visible when the explosion occurred. They added that there were several factories and workshops in the area and none had any security arrangements.

Meanwhile, provincial labour minister, Saeed Ghani, ordered his department's secretary to carry out an inquiry into the matter and submit a report within 24 hours, identifying the cause behind the explosion and the elements responsible.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah too expressed his condolences over the lives lost and directed the labour department to submit a report detailing whether the ice factory was legal.

The labour department's safety teams were asked to confirm whether the boilers at the factory ever inspected and whether the factory workers were registered with the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution.