Three Chitrali labourers fall to death in Karachi factory

KARACHI: Three labourers from Chitral died after falling into a pit carrying toxic chemical and animal waste for producing chicken feed in the Ibrahim Hyderi area on Monday.

The incident occurred when one of the labourers fell in the pit and two others went in to save him. However, they all fell unconscious and slipped into the pit and died of inhaling toxic fumes.

“This is an industrial unit which produces chicken feed,” said Inspector Syed Salahuddin, the SHO of the Ibrahim Hyderi police station.

“It appears to be an accident but we have detained the factory owner for questioning. If any negligence is found on part of the company’s management, the law would take its due course.”

He said that all the victims, aged between 35 and 40, from Lotkoh valley of Chitral.

“They have been identified as Iqbaluddin, Zerbali and Darwesh. The bodies were moved to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.”

The incident came as a grim reminder of a similar episode in April 2015 when six people had died after inhaling toxic gases emitting from an underground tank containing a chemical substance being used in making pickle in a food factory set up in a residential area of Korangi.

In 2016, three workers had died while two others were rescued after they fell into a chemical tank of a textile factory in Bin Qasim industrial area.

In 2017, four workers had met the same fate after inhaling toxic fumes in an underground tank of an industrial unit in the same industrial area.