Karachi: At least 10 persons were today killed and over 50 others injured when a series of explosions rocked an unused oil tanker that was being dismantled at a shipbreaking yard in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province.
The fate at least 30 other workers remains unknown following the explosions at the Gadani shipbreaking yard, where over 100 people were working on the ship at the time, local media reported quoting officials.
At least 10 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in the explosions.
Some workers remain trapped inside the ship while others who were able to exit the ship from above threw themselves into the sea, reports said.
About eight explosions have occurred in the oil tanker due to gas welding work, and more explosions are feared.
Rescue workers are limited in the area and a single fire engine present at the scene has been unsuccessful in putting out the fire, reports said.
A loud blast rocked a ship docked in the shipbreaking yard, setting the ship on fire, Geo News reported.
More than 25 of the injured have been rescued so far, it quoted rescue sources as saying, who added that tanks on the ship caught fire, setting the entire ship ablaze.
The fire is spreading fast, hampering rescue work, it said.
The injured are being brought to hospitals in Karachi and fire brigades summoned from Hub and Karachi are in the process of putting out the fire but with little progress so far as the flames are spreading fast, the report said.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives.
Sharif directed authorities to extend best possible medical treatment to the injured besides ordering an inquiry into the incident.
PTI
