KARACHI, Jan 23: A manufacturing unit of the Berger Paints went up in flames on Wednesday when the blaze blamed on chemicals stored in the factory turned into an inferno and made firefighting an uphill task.

Two of the employees with severe burns were admitted to the Civil Hospital Karachi, whereas five others were released after being treated at the Imam Zainul Abideen Hospital.

Gul Mohammad, a worker of the Berger Paints, said the fire started when two chemicals were being mixed in the production section of the factory. He and other workers rushed out of the factory when the fire alarms began ringing.

The blaze was so huge that clouds of thick black smoke billowing from the factory could be seen from all over the city.

Almost all the fire tenders of the city district government with the snorkels were employed in the fire-fighting operation. In addition, fire tenders from the Pakistan Navy, the Karachi Port Trust and other services also took part in the operation. A snorkel was used to spray foam on the leaping flames fed by the chemical ingredients of paint, including thinner.

Several explosions of different intensities were also heard from the factory during the blaze.

Naib City Nazim Nasreen Jalil, who visited the fire scene, told newsmen that the administration had ample foam and water required in the firefighting operation. She expressed the hope that the blaze would be extinguished soon.

She told newsmen that help from the army and the navy had also been sought to put out the fire, adding that efforts were being made to save the nearby factories.

An army chopper flew over the area as the naib nazim briefed journalists about the firefighting efforts being made by the administration.

The helicopter looked at the burning factory from different angles before flying away, without taking part in the rescue operation.

“Following the standard drill we rushed out from the factory premises as soon the fire alarms went off at around lunch time, but the fire had engulfed the premises in a matter of minutes, if not seconds,” said an employee of the Berger Paints accounts section, who helplessly saw the factory go up in flames as he stood outside on the road.

In the past they had several small fire incidents in which fire alarms went off, triggering evacuation of the staff, but never witnessed a fire of such scale. He pointed out that their Lahore factory was four times bigger than the Karachi unit.

The factory has around 500 employees, of whom 300 are on daily wages. They would be faced with difficult times ahead, an employee of the factory remarked.

According to the officials, a neighboring garment factory was evacuated, but a visit to the site showed that workers were busy recovering raw material from the factory, which was being loaded on the waiting trucks.

The deputy fire officer of the CDGK, Naeem Yousuf, said all efforts were being focused on containing the fire within the factory. He added that they had enough foam for the operation.

Visibly concerned owners of different nearby industrial units were also present outside the burning factory, waiting anxiously for the fire to be controlled.

The large number of ambulances outside the factory gave an impression that different ambulance services of the city were trying to make their presence felt as so many ambulances were evidently not required.

Till the filing of this report, the fire was raging and firemen were busy battling it.

Explosive mix

A fire officer of the CDGK said that all the ingredients present in the factory were combustible and flammable. About eight boilers located in the front portion of the factory are safe while 90 per cent of the factory has been gutted.

A small portion of the administrative block has also survived the inferno. “There was not much we could do. The fire is slowly burning itself out, as its fuel is exhausting,” the officer remarked.

Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out in the auto department when a machine operator and his two helpers were filtering a drum of highly flammable chemical.

The 58-year-old machine operator, Duryaman, and his 22-year-old helper, Shahrukh, were the worst-hit by the fire and they were admitted to the burns ward of the Civil Hospital.

Dr Kaleem Butt, medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, told Dawn that the machine operator sustained 14 per cent burns and Shahrukh 24 per cent. “Shahrukh is still in the intensive care unit, but he is also in a stable condition,” he added. Duryaman, who has been serving the paint company for the past 37 years, told Dawn that at around 2.30pm he was filtering the chemical with the help of his two assistants when the fire broke out abruptly. “I was holding the filter on an empty barrel with the two helpers pouring the chemical from a 40-litre drum when the flames started leaping out of the pouring chemical all of a sudden,” he added.

The machine operator said the chemical was highly flammable, but he did not have any idea as to how it caught fire. “There have been some minor incidents of fire in the factory in the past, but I have never seen such a huge fire in my 37-year service,” he added.

The machine operator said he and his helpers immediately came out of the auto department, a unit where car paint is made. “The impact of the combustion was so intense that we did not have any idea as to what had happened. We rushed to the exit as it started spreading like a bush fire.”

Duryaman, father of five, sustained severe burns on his hands. Half of his beard was also burnt by the flames.

Victim Shahrukh, a resident of Orangi Town, received severe burns on his hands and feet.

An officer from the Pak Colony police recorded his brief statement at the ICU. He quoted the victim as telling that a drum of chemicals exploded and caught fire when he and another helper were pouring the chemical into another barrel.

His father, Ijaz Ahmed, said he and his son worked in the same department. “I have been with the company for the last 27 years and my son for the past three years.”

He said he did not go to the factory on Wednesday as he was not feeling well. “I asked my son to go to work and I stayed at home,” he added.

Ijaz Ahmed said he reached the Civil Hospital to see his injured son after he learnt about the inferno on a TV channel. “Thank God, my son is safe,” he cried as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He ruled out any negligence on part of the workers. “Smoking is strictly prohibited on the premises of the factory and no one dares smoke there. We even deposit match boxes and cigarette lighters at the main entrance,” he added.

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