Factory owner held for deaths in Keamari

49 fell sick and 15 of them died in Ali Muhammad Goth due to toxic fumes, according to report

KARACHI:

Police have arrested the owner of a factory over multiple deaths in Ali Muhammad Goth allegedly due to environmental pollution. Khair Muhammad, who owns a plastic factory on Suparco Road, was taken into custody by Mochko police on Sunday.

According to the SHO Mochko police station, they are also conducting raids to arrest three other accused named in the FIR lodged by a labourer Khadim Hussain. A committee, headed by ASP Mughiz Ahmed, was formed to investigate the incident.

The complainant, resident of Ali Muhammad Goth on Suparco Road, said in his statement that several factories in their neighborhood produce goods from recycled materials. In the absence of any safety protocols, they emit toxic fumes that pollute the environment. The poisonous smoke is extremely hazardous to human health.

The complainant claimed that the toxic fumes sickened his wife Razia, 18-year-old son Shoaib, four-year-old son Shahid, and one-year-old daughter Halimah and they all passed away between January 12 and 21. He further stated that the poisonous smoke has also caused more deaths in the neighborhood but the bereaved families did not report to police.

Hussain named the owners of a plastic factory in the area, Khair Muhammad, alias Sher Ali, Arshad, Shahid, and Saeed, in the FIR as he claimed that they did not adopt any safety protocols and the toxic fumes emitting from their factory caused the death of his wife and children.

Police arrested one of the accused and launched an investigation and a manhunt for the remaining three accused.

Meanwhile, according to a report released by the Sindh Health Department, 18 mysterious deaths have been reported in Ali Muhammad Goth of UC 8, Keamari District, within 20 days.

Teams of the Sindh Health Department and the Environment Protection Agency collected samples from the area between January 26 and 28. They also collected blood and mucus samples of all 935 residents of Ali Mohammad Goth, subjected them to Covid-19 tests, and chest x-rays, etc.

The findings led the teams to two conclusions: 1.) the deaths occurred due to measles and complications caused by it; 2.) the deaths were caused by toxic fumes from the factories in the neighborhood. The samples from local children were sent to the NIH for measles confirmation, while environmental samples were also sent to a private lab for testing.

Most of the victims are children, aged between two and four years. The victims had complained of fever, cough, chest pain, and breathing difficulties. Their symptoms resembled pneumonia’s as they had red itchy eyes, dry mouth, nausea, and abdominal pain.

As many as 49 people have fallen sick and 15 of them died. Twenty-six victims lived in six houses located close to the illegal plastic, rubber, and oil factories. Forty of them were under 11 years of age. Not all the individuals were immunized against measles. A foul odor permeates the area.

As soon as a new factory opened in the area on January 5, local residents suddenly started having breathing problems. After the factories were shut on January 26, the toxic odor disappeared from the area.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2023.