Cargo terminal incident: CAA presents post-mortem reports, denies negligence charge
CAA says post-mortem report of the 7 men confirms their death between 3am-9am on June 9.
Seven people were found dead in the rubble of the Cargo complex on Jinnah Terminal 1 on June 10, 2014 at 5:30 am, says CAA. PHOTO: EXPRESS/MOHAMMAD NOMAN
The Civil Aviation (CAA) on Friday said that the post-mortem reports of the seven men who died in a cold storage unit at Terminal 1 of Karachi airport has been received, which places the time of their death between 3am and 9am on June 9, 2014, almost 24 hours before they were moved to a hospital on June 10, 2014.
The CAA in a press release issued on Friday said that they did not find any bodies from the Gerry's office till the morning of June 10, 2014.
CAA press release added that according to the post-mortem report, the time between death and post-mortem was 24-30 hours, which means they died approximately between 3am – 9am on June 9, 2014.
According to the CAA, they tried repeatedly to control the fire, which started at around 11:25 pm on June 8, 2014, as a result of the terror attack, but had to retreat multiple times due to firing from the attackers.
However, the fire tenders finally managed to fight the blaze in their third attempt at 3:42 am on June 9, 2014. They continued their efforts to control the blaze till 5:50 am at which point security forces moved in to clear the area before fire tenders could resume work.
"Search and Rescue operation of the cold storage was attempted and completed at 7:50 pm, on June 9. No bodies were found inside. Because of the fire the building had collapsed and there were strong fumes of chemicals.
"Charred bodies of the seven victims of the terrorist were recovered by the CAA at around 5:30 am, on June 10 from the Gerry’s office. The postmortem report confirms the time between death and postmortem as 24-30 hours, which means death occurred approximately between 3:00 am – 9:00 am on June 9, 2014."
In the release, the CAA denied allegations of any negligence or delay on part of the authority, “CAA immediately moved its fire tenders towards the sight, but they came under fire from the terrorists who were hiding in the cargo area.”
It further states, “There was no question of delay in the rescue as the CAA fire tenders move immediately to extinguish the fire if and when such incidents happens irrespective of the fact whether any human being is trapped in it or not. That is the standard operations procedure.”
On Thursday, the Secretary Aviation Division had formed a three member committee to probe possible negligence in putting out the blaze at the Gerry's D'nata cold storage. Air commodore Noor Elahi Bajwa would be heading the probe committee.
The CAA in a press release issued on Friday said that they did not find any bodies from the Gerry's office till the morning of June 10, 2014.
CAA press release added that according to the post-mortem report, the time between death and post-mortem was 24-30 hours, which means they died approximately between 3am – 9am on June 9, 2014.
According to the CAA, they tried repeatedly to control the fire, which started at around 11:25 pm on June 8, 2014, as a result of the terror attack, but had to retreat multiple times due to firing from the attackers.
However, the fire tenders finally managed to fight the blaze in their third attempt at 3:42 am on June 9, 2014. They continued their efforts to control the blaze till 5:50 am at which point security forces moved in to clear the area before fire tenders could resume work.
"Search and Rescue operation of the cold storage was attempted and completed at 7:50 pm, on June 9. No bodies were found inside. Because of the fire the building had collapsed and there were strong fumes of chemicals.
"Charred bodies of the seven victims of the terrorist were recovered by the CAA at around 5:30 am, on June 10 from the Gerry’s office. The postmortem report confirms the time between death and postmortem as 24-30 hours, which means death occurred approximately between 3:00 am – 9:00 am on June 9, 2014."
In the release, the CAA denied allegations of any negligence or delay on part of the authority, “CAA immediately moved its fire tenders towards the sight, but they came under fire from the terrorists who were hiding in the cargo area.”
It further states, “There was no question of delay in the rescue as the CAA fire tenders move immediately to extinguish the fire if and when such incidents happens irrespective of the fact whether any human being is trapped in it or not. That is the standard operations procedure.”
On Thursday, the Secretary Aviation Division had formed a three member committee to probe possible negligence in putting out the blaze at the Gerry's D'nata cold storage. Air commodore Noor Elahi Bajwa would be heading the probe committee.