Ship-breaking blast kills 11 in southwestern Pakistan
Nearly a dozen workers have been killed and about 60 others injured in a huge blast that ripped through an oil tanker at a ship-breaking yard in southwestern Pakistan.
The incident happened at Gadani ship-breaking yard in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday.
A gas cylinder exploded and started a fire inside an oil tanker being dismantled for scrap in the area, about 50 kilometers west of the port city of Karachi.
"A gas cylinder explosion caused a huge fire in the ship which was being dismantled," Balochistan province’s home secretary Akbar Harifal said.
The official ruled out any possibility of a sabotage or terrorist attack.
Zulfiqar Ali Shah, the deputy commissioner of the area, said rescuers had recovered bodies from the scene.
"We have recovered at least 11 bodies so far and shifted 59 injured to Karachi," Shah said, adding, "All the injured had severe burns."
TV footage showed a thick plume of black smoke rising from the ship. The explosion reportedly sent pieces of metal flying up to two kilometers away.
Local government officials confirmed that the ship was still burning and there was not enough equipment to extinguish it.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his "deep grief and sorrow" over the incident.
Industrial accidents are common in Pakistan, with workplaces often ignoring basic safety measures in the absence of legislation to protect laborers.
In the most stunning case, a devastating fire at a textile factory in Karachi killed more than 250 people in 2012.
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