HYDERABAD: One of the survivors of the Khai Road transformer blast breathed his last at a Karachi hospital on Wednesday. He was identified as Mohammad Faizan, 38, a software engineer and son of Nazar.
He had been brought to the burns ward of Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) following the blast in a 200kVA transformer in the Khai Road area on Sept 25.
He was passing through the area when a blast occurred in a pole-mounted transformer on Khai Road, and its oil spilled onto four people, including a passerby. Two motorbikes were burnt. Besides Faizan, Kamran, Muzaffar Hussain, 25, and Sirajuddin, 44, were also taken to the LUH burns ward. They received less than 10 per cent burn injuries, respectively.
Faizan suffered 18pc burns and was shifted to a Karachi hospital by his family, according to LUH Medical Superintendent Dr Ershad Kazmi. He died in Karachi, leaving behind two children. A pall of gloom descended on the locality where he lived, as news of his death reached there.
Meanwhile, Hesco management suspended line superintendent Saleem and assistant lineman Mohammad Faisal of the Memon sub-division, where the incident occurred. A Hesco spokesman said the two were suspended following an initial inquiry and would now face disciplinary proceedings under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules.
He said the two had not followed the required standard operating procedure (SOP) for transformer maintenance, adding that they had changed the oil and transferred the area’s load immediately, whereas they should have operated the transformer at zero load after refilling the oil.
Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026
