Karachi: Two killed in Kemari oil tank blast

KARACHI: Two persons were killed when a chemical tank at Karachi’s Kemari oil terminal caught fire. Rescue and fire-fighting operation was underway at the scene.

According to our correspondent, the fire erupted at an oil depot of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) in Kemari.

Eyewitnesses said a tank filled with liquid methanol chemical exploded when dozens of labourers were working at the site.

Those injured were rushed to civil hospital. Rescue officials said five labourers suffered burn injuries, of them two died in hospital.

Fire tenders rushed to the scene to extinguish the blaze, with Rangers and rescue teams also busy in the relief and rescue operations.

Shariq Farooqui, the PSO spokesman, said fire is now under control, adding that the entire fire brigade staff of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) was busy in fire-fighting.

Unlike petroleum fires, methanol fires can be extinguished with plain water. A methanol-based fire burns invisibly, unlike gasoline, which burns with a visible flame.  - Samaa