KPT chairperson says gas did not leak from port or tankers

Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar on Monday refuted claims that the gas leakage, which had killed five people and injured scores in Karachi's Keamari area on Sunday, occurred at the port or from any ship. 

Akhtar held a press conference where he said: “We have completely inspected the area under the KPT’s jurisdiction including the terminals and berths, no evidence of a gas leak was found,” he said.

“If there had been a leak from the port, then the first affectees would be the people working there. Here we are in front of you people,” he said.

Read more: Five dead, dozens affected due to mysterious gas leakage in Karachi

The rear admiral said he was not in a position to state the source or origin of the leak because the Pakistan Navy’s Biological and Chemical Damage Control team had not provided any results yet.

Akhtar hoped the results of the samples will be released in a day or two.

Five people dead 

At least five people died and dozens were hospitalised on Sunday due to a gas leakage in the city's Keamari area.

Those hospitalised had complained of respiratory problems, police officials and doctors said, noting that the real cause of the incident could not be ascertained. Sources said the leakage occurred while the chemicals were being offloaded from a cargo ship anchored at Keamari Jetty.

The deceased included two women as well.

'100 patients treated and released'

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi said a Navy's team was conducting a chemical analysis of the unidentified gas.

He said around 100 patients have been treated so far, with two of them still at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

“For the record, approx 100 patients have been treated and released since last night. Two are still in ICU. We continue to monitor the situation,” he said in a Twitter post.

4 Customs House employee faint due to ongoing toxic gas issue

Earlier on Monday, due to the ongoing toxic gas issues, four employees of the Customs House fainted.

Following the incident, the employees were sent home and the building was shut down.