KARACHI, Feb 12: Over 35,000 bales of jute were destroyed in a big fire that broke out at Port Qasim on Sunday morning. Over 20 fire tenders, including 10 of city government, seven of Pakistan Navy, two of Port Qasim Authority and one each of the Pakistan Steel and Karachi Port Trust, took part in the fire fighting operation which continued till late Sunday night.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Naeem Yousaf told Dawn that they had contained the fire from spreading further, but fire was still on.
“We have contained the fire from reaching the two oil pipelines passing at a distance of 100 feet from the spot where the bales were stored. We kept these two lines cool by water treatment,” Mr Yousaf said.
Two ships were also anchored close by where the fire broke out but remained unaffected, officials added.
Chief Fire Officer Kazim Ali, who is also holding the additional charge of D.O. Civil Defense and Fire, appreciated the quick action of PQA fire tenders which according to him managed to contain the fire in the initial stage.
However, the fire department officials could neither ascertain the cause of the fire nor the extent of damages.
According to statement issued by the Port Qasim Authority, a cargo handling company had stored approximately 60,000 bales of dry jute at the port. One third of the total had already been transported, however, two third was in the store when the fire broke out.
Investigations are being carried out to ascertain the cause of fire.
