A massive fire that erupted during drilling near an oil refinery in Korangi Creek on March 28 was likely triggered due to a concentration of a larger quantity of chemicals than permissible limits, it emerged on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab told Dawn that the report prepared by Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) experts, who had conducted soil testing of the area and taken away samples, was expected to be submitted with the provincial and city authorities on Saturday.

According to a preliminary report on Sunday by experts of the University of Karachi, samples of boiling water were taken and sent to concerned institutions of the varsity.

While concerned officials have not made the findings of the report public, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Khan told Dawn.com that chemical analysis of the boiling water has been shared with them.

He noted that excessive amounts of Benzene, Toluene and Tetrachloroethane has been found in the boiling water.

Regarding the quantity of chemicals found in the water, as per the chemical analysis, Tetrachloroethane was detected at 33 micrograms per litre instead of the permissible five micrograms per litre.

The preliminary chemical report also showed that the Benzene level was found to be 19 micrograms per litre instead of the allowed 5 micrograms. Similarly, Toluene detected at 15 micrograms per litre, exceeding the permissible limits of 5 micrograms.

The Rescue 1122 spokesperson said the chemical experts report showed that there was a concentration of chemicals. However, he added that the exact quantity of the chemicals at site of the burning inside underground/reservoir was still unclear.

He said that with each passing day, the intensity of flames was gradually declining.

Korangi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Masood Bhutto also confirmed receiving the report of chemical analysis about the Korangi creek fire.

He said the report showed that “heavy metals” were present in the water samples such as copper. Besides, the report also revealed the presence of gases like Benzene in large quantities.

On the future course of action after receiving the report, Bhutto said the PPL was working on it.

“They [PPL] have hired services of a private company for containing the fire as well as starting an exploration activity for gas,” he explained.

The Korangi DC elaborated that the PPL would initiate the process of containing the fire.

Subsequently, an exploration activity will be launched to see the extent of gas presence in a five-kilometre radius.

Bhutto recalled that initially, it was presumed that there were “shallow gases”, which might exhaust themselves.

“Therefore, the administration and firefighters had halted the operation of extinguishing the fire on the advice of the experts as it could have been harmful,” he said.

“But now as the gases have not consumed themselves and the intensity of the flames has remained the same for the last eight days, the PPL experts have deemed it fit to start an exploration activity to find gases inside the reservoir,” he concluded.