780 sacks of sugar get ‘dumped’ in sea

A container truck loaded with 780 sacks of sugar, worth around Rs7 million fell into the sea at the Karachi Port on Saturday.

The driver was reversing the vehicle after loading when he lost control and it went off the docks in the water. At least 780,000 kilogrammes of sweetener got mixed with the saltwater of the Arabian Sea.

“The brakes had failed,” driver Abdul Nafay said in his statement to the authorities. He had jumped in time to save himself as a tiny portion of the shipment meant for delivery to the Utility Stores Corporation went waste.

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At least 33,000 tonnes of imported sugar of Trading Corporation of Pakistan was being off-loaded on Berth No. 4 of Karachi Port Trust. A container truck was loaded with sacks, the driver lost control while reversing the trailer and it fell off the berth into the sea, officials said.

According to KPT sources, an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2021.