Nato APC gutted in freak accident

Police official dismisses arson, saying faulty brakes caused a fire to break out which gutted one APC.

KARACHI: An armoured personnel carrier (APC) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was gutted in a fire on Sunday.

A trailer carrying a couple of APCs was on its way to Afghanistan via the Chaman border when it caught fire near the Northern Bypass, Keamari within the jurisdiction of Maripur police station.

A fire tender from the nearest fire station was immediately dispatched to the site. Fire fighters toiled against the blaze and managed to save one of the APCs and the trailer from being burnt.

The trailer is owned by Mehmood Goods transport company and its warehouse is situated at the Mauripur truck stand. The company is one of the companies which hold a contract from NATO to ferry goods from Karachi to Afghanistan.

Police officials who reached the site, ruled out the possibility of a terrorist act. SHO Shafiq Tanoli said that the fire broke out accidently soon after the trailer had left its warehouse. The APCs were covered by a tarp.

“There was a fault in the rear brake shoes of the trailer, due to which the tyres got extremely hot and caught fire. The tarp too caught fire, Tanoli said. “If terrorists had attacked, they would have fired at the trailer, targeting the driver and conductor, who would have been the first to be hit. Additionally arsonists would have torched both APC’s not just one,” he explained.

The SHO said that the driver, Akhmat Khan has also given his statement to the police that the fire broke out due to faulty brakes.

The police official said that they had not found any evidence from the site to suggest that this was an act of terrorism.