KARACHI, March 10: At least six people were killed and 95 others suffered burn injuries when a fire broke out on a naval ship at the PN Dockyard here on Thursday.

However, sources said the death toll could rise because there were many cases of severe burns. Official sources said that a fireball erupted all of a sudden from an oil tank of the ship ‘PNS Muavin’ anchored at dockyard’s berth No. 4.

An Inter-Services Public Relations officer of Pakistan Navy said that six people were killed, 55 were seriously injured and another 40 received minor injuries. The injured were being treated at the PNS Shifa. He said that the PNS Muavin was a logistic ship and was on its annual maintenance drill. It was scheduled to sail in the next fortnight on a world cruise. An inquiry committee had been constituted to determine the cause of the fire.

The medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Karachi, Dr Saeed Qureshi, told Dawn that the navy had shifted a seriously injured officer, Lieutenant Khalid, 40, to the burns ward. “The patient has suffered 93 per cent burns and is in a serious condition,” Dr Qureshi added.

Administrator of the Burns Centre of the Civil Hospital Dabirur Rehman said he was expecting more injured people to be shifted from the PNS Shifa to the centre. “We have made special arrangements and have kept beds ready,” Mr Rehman added.

Dr Qureshi said that PNS Shifa was overburdened by a large number of patients admitted there. “A sizable number of patients need ventilators which are reported to be running short at the PNS Shifa,” he added.

In addition to the CHK Burns Centre, about 25 per cent of the patients will probably be moved to the Patel Hospital, PNS Rahat and the Combined Military Hospital, Malir. Those needing ventilators will be shifted on an emergency basis to different hospitals.

The sources said that a contract to clean the ship’s oil tanks had been given to a private contractor and the cleaning work was in progress. In some part of the ship, some welding work was also being done. A civilian employee of the contractor working on the ship became unconscious after inhaling some gases near the tank. Senior officials of the naval ship were informed and when they arrived to see the man, a fireball flashed all of a sudden, injuring the people on the deck. The incident took place in the port side of the ship, blocking the only gangway and forcing the trapped people to jump into the sea to save their lives.

Official sources said that the ship’s captain, Commanding Officer Munawar Ahmed, Executive Commanding Officer Irfan, Mechanical Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Kamran, also suffered burns. Navy’s helicopters and ambulances of the Edhi Foundation and other institutions were called out to take the injured to PNS Shifa Hospital, where an emergency was declared.

City government’s fire department had been asked to stand by, fire brigade officials said.

According to eyewitnesses at the PNS Shifa, helicopters made several trips to the hospital’s helipad from where the wounded were rushed to the emergency ward.