KARACHI, Nov 5: Seven children suffered burn injuries when chemical dumped on an open plot caught fire in Orangi Town on Saturday evening, police said.

The children were playing in the dumping area close to a graveyard in Rahimshah Colony in the Mominabad police station limits when the incident occurred. Police have arrested the driver of the dumping vehicle.

A duty officer at the police station said that the dump caught fire when, according to unconfirmed reports, someone threw a burning matchstick it.

The children were first taken to the Madina Hospital in Orangi Town but were later shifted to the Jinnah Hospital.

However, later in the night they were referred to the National Institute of Child Health, where the have been admitted and are undergoing treatment for burns.

The director of the NICH, Dr Afroze Ramazan, told Dawn that the seven children were brought to the NICH on Saturday night from Orangi Town.

Their condition was stable and they had suffered 10 to 20 per cent burns, mostly on the hands and legs, except one child who suffered burn injuries on his face, Dr Ramazan said.

According to their case histories, they had suffered burns due to some industrial waste being dumped in Orangi Town, the director remarked.

Initial police investigations have revealed that the bags containing chemicals belonged to a multinational company situated in the Site area.

Police have arrested the driver identified as Naeem who, according to the police, had dumped the chemicals in the Orangi Town area.

An FIR (667/2006) has been registered against the suspect at the Mominabad police station.

Of the injured children, six were identified as Arsalan, 10, Eid Mohammad, 9, Ibrahim, 7, Bilal, 11, Dawood, 10, and Yasir, 10.

Saturday’s incident is similar to an incident that occurred in March 2006 in Site.

At least 20 children had suffered injuries while playing in a toxic waste dump in March 2006.

Iftikhar was so badly burned that he died on April 28. A number of children had lost their legs and hands in amputation necessitated to save their lives.