KARACHI: Over 50 people have been hospitalized after a gas leakage at the Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL) factory in Karachi’s Bin Qasim.
Nineteen people were hospitalized at the Pakistan Steel Mills Hospital and 36 were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The hospital’s executive director, Dr Seemin Jamali, confirmed the cases and said they are all stable. An unspecified number of people have been taken to two private hospitals in the area.
Engro Polymer is a terminal and storage facility for bulk liquid chemicals and LPG according to its website. Mohammad Waqas from Engro Corp’s communications team told SAMAA Digital that the leak occurred at 10:15am.
It was a chlorine gas leak, not an LPG leak, he confirmed, adding that everyone was evacuated. They complained of nausea and vomiting, he said, adding that no casualties were reported.
The company’s technical team is investigating the leak and the cause will be determined after their investigation concludes, he said.
Waqas said activities at the plant have restarted. “Engro will conduct a complete and thorough investigation into the incident. The company will keep all stakeholders informed about details related to the incident,” it said in a statement.
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