KARACHI: Efforts to refloat the coal barge which ran aground near Mubarak Village a day earlier could not succeed on Thursday, sources told Dawn.

The barge belongs to China Power, which runs a coal-fired power plant in Hub, Balochistan, and is a subsidiary of Hubco.

“The metallic vessel tied with three towing vessels is still stuck on the rocky beach though we tried our best. We are hoping that it may refloat by the high tide late in the night,” said Khuda Gunj, a social activist of the coastal settlement located some 46 kilometres from the main city on the Sindh-Balochistan border.

The company had also engaged villagers to help them push the barge back into the sea, he added.

Meanwhile, area residents expressed concern that no government official, especially from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), visited the site to make an independent assessment of the incident.

“Mubarak Village is very much part of Karachi and Sindh. It’s unfortunate that the incident that may endanger marine life and negatively affect fishermen’s livelihood couldn’t attract the attention of Sepa,” said Abdullah, a local, adding that the company should be held accountable.

No Sepa official was available for comments.

The coal barge reportedly anchored near the Churna Island drifted towards the shore when its anchor broke on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2020