KARACHI: New Karachi Industrial Police on Thursday registered a case in the ice factory explosion which had claimed the lives of 10 people and caused injuries to 25 others on Tuesday evening.

Eight people died on the first day while one more injured victim succumbed to burns during treatment at Burns Centre of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, while one more body was retrieved from the debris on Wednesday.

The police have registered the FIR against “unknown responsible” persons over charges of manslaughter, negligence and damage to the property etc.

According to contents of the FIR registered on behalf of the state through a police officer, the factory consisted of three portions which contained ice factory and two cold storages. In one portion, chemical drums were kept while in another portion, wooden cartons containing different types of fruits were kept while “gas was emanating from the place of the blast,” according to the complainant, sub-inspector Zulfiqar Ali Qureshi who arrived at the place after receiving information on Tuesday evening.

The factory infrastructure collapsed while other factories, godowns and industries located on an adjacent plot also suffered damage. Moreover, four motorbikes, two cars, one rickshaw and installations of KE were also damaged.

As per the FIR, human lives were lost in the explosion due to “negligence of the suspects.” Therefore, the case has been registered under sections 322 (Punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 427 (mischief causing damages), 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 287 (Negligent conduct with respect to machinery), 337-A(i) (Punishment of shajjah) and 34 (common intention) of Pakistan Penal Code.

Area SHO Yunus Khattak said that they have mentioned only number of plot (51) in the FIR and further legal action would be taken in light of reports of bomb disposal squad and other departments.

The officer added that debris could not be removed on Thursday to pave the way for bomb experts to examine the place of the blast. The officer hinted that the explosion had taken place in the cold storage where fruits were kept.

The sources said that the debris was not removed as the owner(s) appeared to be more interested in saving the fruits kept at the cold storage.

Despite passage of two days, nature of the explosion has not be determined so far as investigators said they were waiting for reports of the bomb experts and a Karachi University laboratory where some samples/evidence have been sent on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said that it was a “technical issue and let the experts firm up their findings.”

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020