KARACHI: A mysterious fire that erupted near an oil refinery in Korangi Creek last month extinguished itself but due to persistent gas emissions, experts opted for a controlled ignition to ensure safety, officials said.

A spokesperson for Rescue 1122 told Dawn that the intensity of the flames started receding late on Monday night and the fire disappeared at around 4am.

On Tuesday morning, experts from the Pakistan Refinery Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, and Sui Southern Gas Company, Korangi Deputy Commissioner Masood Bhutto and other officials visited the site to assess the situation.

“A thorough examination of the area revealed presence of hydrogen sulfide as its concentration near the well was recorded at 20ppm,” said Mr Bhutto.

He said that exposure to hydrogen sulfide at this level could cause eye irritation, nausea, dizziness, breathing difficulties, coughing and headaches.

He said that the experts recommended a host of safety measures, including “controlled re-ignition of the gas to ensure safe and managed burning”.

The Rescue 1122 spokesperson confirmed that experts had reignited the fire.

Meanwhile, as part of precautionary measures, the city administration ordered temporary closure of the nearby Salim Habib University till April 21, restriction of public access to the site and deployment of fire brigade vehicles at the site for standby support.

On March 28, a huge fire erupted during drilling of a borehole for a housing project. Initially, firefighters attempted to douse the flames. However, realising the gravity of the blaze, experts halted firefighting efforts, stating that the flames would burn themselves out within one to three weeks.

Last week, the federal government also constituted a committee of experts to conduct a detailed technical investigation to assess the cause and extent of the blaze.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2025