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Today's Paper | April 30, 2024

Updated 22 Dec, 2016 02:21pm

Fire erupts at Gadani shipbreaking yard

A fire that broke out in a ship parked in plot 60 at the Gadani shipbreaking yard in Hub has been brought under control.

All labourers trapped inside the ship were removed by rescue teams that had arrived on the site of the incident.

The district administration has stated that the fire is under control and no casualties have been reported.

Thousands of labourers work in perilous conditions, often for a pittance, at Gadani's shipbreaking yards.

In November, 26 people had been killed and 58 others injured during a series of explosions that occurred during work on an unused oil tanker at the Gadani shipbreaking yard.

Fires and accidents are common at the yard, while the air is polluted, often causing health problems for the workers, who perform the often dangerous work of extracting ferrous and non-ferrous metals, steel pipes and valves, electricity cables, machinery and wood from derelict ships.

There is no government agency to monitor and evaluate the operations at the yard and there is a lack of health and safety standards for the dismantling and recycling of materials and metals.

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