KARACHI: Two persons burned to death and three others were injured when a huge fire broke out at an oil terminal in Keamari here on Thursday, according to officials and witnesses.

The blaze erupted in a Shell oil depot at Keamari Terminal-1. The injured were taken to the Burns Centre of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, according to police.

Jackson police SHO Malik Adil Khan said there were reportedly five employees of the private oil company and the whereabouts of two of them were not known at this moment.

Later in the evening, the officer said two burnt bodies were found at the place. The deceased were identified as Shahid and Salih Mohammed. The officer said the fire was controlled by 10-12 fire tenders of the Karachi Port Trust and KMC Fire Brigade after hectic efforts lasting around four hours.

A KPT fire department official said they had received information about the fire at around 1.05pm. The fire tenders managed to control the fire at 3.30pm. However, cooling work continued till evening.

The official said the exact cause of the fire would be known when experts would submit their final report.

A spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation, whose ambulances shifted the wounded to the hospital, said they received serious burns.

Karachi Commissioner Sohail Rajput has ordered an inquiry and appointed an additional commissioner to ascertain causes of the fire and fix responsibility. The inquiry officer has been asked to seek experts’ help in this regard, according to a press statement.

Rangers said in a statement that personnel of the paramilitary force along with rescue services reached the place and cordoned off the area. The Rangers personnel took part in rescue efforts and controlling the fire. They called water tankers from KWSB hydrants and fire tenders from Fire Brigade.

The Karachi Port Trust said in a press release that Chairman retired Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar rushed to the scene of the incident with a KPT team and supervised the fire extinguishing operation.

The KPT quoted reports as saying that Pakistan State Oil staff were working on its fuel-carrying lines inside the Shell premises when the fire occurred. “Undertaking repair works in such a sensitive area is a specialised job and supposed to be conducted under authorised experts. It appears that ignition of such a fire is a sequel to some serious violation of safety required to be adopted for such a work. KPT will take strict action against the culprits found guilty of such a violation, if any,” it added.

The KPT said an FIR of the incident was also being registered against those responsible for the incident.

Shell Pakistan said in a press release that a 20-inch diameter PSO import line passing inside Shell’s Terminal-1 at Keamari caught fire. “The maintenance and safety standards compliance of key oil pipelines are crucial. Pakistan being an import-reliant country needs to ensure the most stringent of compliance in terms of pipelines for fuel supply coming into Karachi, and Shell Pakistan is willing to support all stakeholders in this regard so that such unfortunate incidents can be avoided,” it added.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2020