KARACHI: As the mysterious fire in the Korangi Creek area continues to burn with almost the same intensity on the 11th day, the federal government has constituted a committee of experts to conduct a detailed technical investigation to assess the cause and extent of the blaze that erupted during the digging of a housing project in Korangi Creek late last month.

The federal energy ministry issued a notification regarding the technical committee, which includes Chief Operating Officer of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) Sikandar Ali Memon as the convenor, along with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Chief Geologist Khurrum Shahzad, Production Manager Habibullah Chohan, and General Manager of Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) Abdul Majid as members.

According to the notification, the PRL was requested to establish a camp office within its premises immediately and all energy, petroleum, and service companies working in Sindh were asked to provide necessary technical and logistical assistance to aid the firefighting efforts and remedial operations.

As per the terms of reference, the committee will conduct a detailed investigation to assess the cause and extent of the fire and recommend immediate and long-term mitigation measures to extinguish the blaze and prevent future occurrences.

Experts will recommend steps to extinguish the fire that has been burning for over 10 days

The committee will execute the necessary interventions in coordination with local authorities to ensure timely containment and effective risk management.

The technical committee was constituted after Karachi Commissioner Syed Hasan Naqvi wrote to the energy ministry and requested a body of experts to ascertain the reasons behind the mysterious fire and to recommend mitigation measures for extinguishing the blaze.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting chaired by the commissioner on Tuesday was informed that the fire would be brought under control in the next three to four days.

He expressed satisfaction over the steps taken so far and directed the local administration to prevent people from reaching the site.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025