KARACHI: Authorities investigating the lethal gas leak in Karachi’s Keamari area on Monday said the probable cause of health disaster in the Railway Colony which killed nine people and affected over 500 was suspected to be from “Hydrogen Sulphide”, a highly poisonous gas that is a byproduct of crude oil and also generated in sewerage system,

More than 100 people were shifted to public and private hospitals last night with people complaining of itching eyes, breathing problems and tightness in the chest.

The health and police authorities confirmed the death of at least one person from the suspected gas poisoning on Tuesday morning along with three others, taking the death toll to nine during the past two days.

“Hydrogen Sulphide could be the probable cause of gas poisoning in Keamari area adjacent to Karachi port where some have unfortunately died and dozens were hospitalised on Sunday night,”

“So far, our investigation is inconclusive but our teams are working on it and we have also sought professional assistance from a private firm to help in the investigation,

Wahab said their investigators were suspecting Hydrogen Sulphide poisoning in the Keamari area, adding that some ‘crude oil facilities’ adjacent to the Railway Colony could be the probable source of gas poisoning.

He added the investigation was still underway and non-conclusive at the moment.

“We have summoned the officials of some of the companies who have installations in the area from where gas poisoning was reported. We have also involved some private firms having expertise in such incidents,” Wahab said, adding that at the moment, they don’t see any need for mass evacuation of the people from the affected area.

Earlier, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had directed the provincial authorities to make necessary arrangements for the evacuation from the area.

Sindh government officials claimed that the provincial environmental watchdog, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), was not allowed to monitor facilities at the Karachi Port, which is managed by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Pakistan Navy as these authorities believe they are only governed by the federal environmental laws.

A team of investigators from SEPA had rushed to Keamari after residents from Massan Road and Railway Colony complained of burning and irritation in eyes, along with breathing issues.

Sindh Health Secretary Zahid Abbassi who visited Ziauddin Hospital last night announced the Sindh government would bear the expenses of all the people who were hospitalised due to gas inhalation and poisoning.

Earlier, a team of Pakistan Navy’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense (NBCD) also conducted an investigation into the possible source of toxic gas leakage in the port area, however, no details of the findings were made public.

An atmosphere of fear and panic had gripped the entire area with residents seen wearing face masks and many moving their families away from the area.

Majority of public and private schools remained closed in Keamari town and some parts of the District South Karachi, including Machar Colony, Clifton, Tower, City Railway Colony, and other coastal areas situated near the Karachi Port on Monday.

The decision was taken by the administrators of schools to avoid any unwanted incidents and keep the children safe.

In a news conference Chairman KPT Rear Admiral (retd) Jamil Akhtar said neither any oil vessel nor any facility at the port could be blamed for the poisonous gas leakage.

“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,” he had said.

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.

Police on Monday registered an FIR No143/20 under sections 322, 284 and 337-A against unidentified persons. The case was registered at the Jackson Police Station on behalf of the state.

Jackson SHO Malik Adil, while confirming the registration of the FIR, said that a total five people, including three women, had lost their lives while 63 others, including women and children, were affected due to the mysterious poisonous gas.

“We did not name anyone in the FIR as it is yet to become clear from where the poisonous gas spread as different departments are trying to ascertain it,” the officer explained.

The officer said that the postmortems of the deceased persons were not conducted; however, doctors have taken samples from the deceased persons for chemical examination to ascertain the cause of death.

Police said that the body of a woman, Musarrat Yasmin, was sent to her hometown Rawalpindi for burial while others were laid to rest in separate graveyards in Karachi.

A young man, Muhammad Ahsan, who was the son of Counter-Terrorism Department’s officer Omar Farooq, was also among the people killed. He was a resident of Docks Colony and was doing BCS at a private university in Karachi.